


Irregulate

by owzy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Ages are international ages, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Trauma, Don't say I didn't warn you, Heavy Scenes, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Mafia AU, Mafia NCT, Mentions of Mental Disorder, Mentions of Prostitution, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of drugs, Minor Character Death, Multi, NCT Ensemble - Freeform, OT21 (NCT), Please read the warning, References to Drugs, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, Violence, a lot of swearing, mafia, mature language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 108,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owzy/pseuds/owzy
Summary: "irregulate"- to make irregular : DISORDER21 individuals who used to be normal kids had their life upside down when 7 masked figures infiltrated their school and wreaked havoc. Now 10 years later, one individual finally says, “Guys, I think it’s time we find the culprit who robbed us from a normal life, yeah?”
Relationships: It's a surpise
Comments: 104
Kudos: 134





	1. My First and Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think my heart is about to burst. Oh, I can’t, I can’t explain with any words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read at your own discretion! I will put trigger warnings for each chapter.
> 
> tw// blood, guns, school shooting, heavy violence, mature language
> 
> important note:  
> underage Jaehyun, Sicheng, Jungwoo, Lucas, Mark, Dejun, Hendery, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, Chenle, Jisung
> 
> The prologue will be told per person/s' POV so we have a better understanding of the incident.
> 
> FIRST PERIOD
> 
> High School: 8:00 AM
> 
> Middle School: 8:30 AM
> 
> Grade School: 9:00 AM

****

**BUSAN, 8:03 AM KST: Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta**

“ _Volcanoes have a chamber down under the earth where they store the magma, and when –_ “

“God, this class is so boring, I wanna go out.”

“Taeyong – ah, just a few more hours and we’ll get out of here.” Johnny jokes.

“You two, can you stop? I can barely understand Korean and you’re making it harder by talking over the teacher.” Yuta scolds.

“Wait, you’re actually listening?” Taeyong looks at Yuta as if he grew two heads.

“Very funny, guys. Now shut up, I’m trying to pass this class. We’re second years now. We need to start thinking about our grades.”

“Look who’s talking!” Taeyong snickers. 

He looks around the classroom; everyone is either half asleep, or not really paying attention to the teacher. Whoever said that school should start at eight am probably hates students and wants them to suffer.

“I’m so bored, when will we have some fun?” He pouts.

“What’s with you?” Johnny replies while looking at the teacher. “Why can’t you sit still today?” He smiles.

“I don’t know? It’s like I woke up this morning and I just wanted some adventure.” Taeyong pauses. “God, that sounds so fucking cliché.” Johnny stifles a laugh. “Should we go to a karaoke room later after class?”

From in front of them, Yuta gives them a thumbs up from under his table. “Okay, it’s settled then.” Johnny concludes.

As Taeyong reaches for his notebook from under his table, he sensed something. It ran from the tip of his fingertips up to the back of his head. “The fuck?” he mutters to himself. He tries to brush it off, but the weird feeling just won’t go away.

“Hey, something’s wrong.” Taeyong whispers just loud enough for Johnny and Yuta to hear.

“What is it?” Johnny responds, still copying notes from the blackboard.

“I have this feeling in me, and I don’t know what it is. Like I’m sensing something.”

“Nice try, Yoda. But your prophecy is shit.” Yuta remarks.

“I’m serious here!” Taeyong whisper yells.

“Mr. Lee! Mr. Nakamoto! Care to share your interesting conversation to the rest of the class?” The teacher interrupts his class to scold the two. He sees Johnny snickering beside Taeyong. “You too, Mr. Seo. If you three don’t quiet down I would have to ask you to leave my class and report to the principal’s office!”

“I’m sorry, Sir. We’ll keep quiet now!” Taeyong bows and the other two follow suit. They sit down and pick up their pens again to copy notes. But that tingly feeling within Taeyong just won’t go away. Johnny looks at him worriedly.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to – “Before Johnny could even finish his sentence, the roar of bullets was heard loud and clear and it echoed in Taeyong’s head. Everyone screams in surprise, not really fully realizing the seriousness of the situation. One student opens the window and looked outside to have a better view of where the sound came from.

One. Two. Three.

A single fire was heard and then the student stumbles onto the floor, knocking the tables on his way down. Yuta, who was closest to the student, sees a bullet wound right at the student’s forehead, blood gushing out. Panicked, their teacher instructs his students to hide under the table in case the windows shatters. But Johnny was quick – minded, and pushes Taeyong inside the locker just behind them. Yuta sees this and follows suit, locking the locker from the inside. Johnny was the last to lock himself inside the locker.

“Taeyong – ah,” Johnny screams. “Lock the locker from the inside!”

Taeyong barely manages to hear this from all the gun fires, but he manages to lock himself up. After a few ticks, there was silence. No ruckus, no bullets being fired, nothing. It was eerily quiet and Taeyong could hear every single thought that comes into his mind. If he tries hard enough, he may even hear Yuta’s heartbeat. And there it came, a sound. But it was the worst kind of sound they have ever heard – the door sliding open. Taeyong holds his breath, even puts his palms to his mouth just to make sure. Heavy footsteps could be heard, the muzzle of the rifle scratching the tiled floor.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

The attacker opens fire and Taeyong could swear he has never heard a more morbid sound over the seventeen years of his existence. What seemed like thirty seconds of nonstop firing felt like hours for Taeyong. And then there was silence. The heavy footsteps start to fade away and Taeyong wishes that they have already left the room. He stays still, not wanting to move an inch. He was sat there, for what seemed like hours, before the pungent smell of blood overwhelms him. It was so strong that he felt nauseous.

**BUSAN, 7:55 AM KST: Taeil**

It was Monday. Taeil hates Mondays. Mondays are when he has a shit ton of work because the class thought it was a funny idea to vote him as a class representative. And now here he is, a third year, having to worry about fetching notebooks and being a teacher’s pet.

“Ah, Taeil – ssi, here’s your class’ notebooks. I must say, some answers are quite identical. You might want to look into that.” His teacher has a plastic smile on his face. Either he’s angry or he just doesn’t give a shit whether his students cheat or not. Taeil’s guessing it’s the latter.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Sir. I’ll tell the class about it.” His teacher hands him the pile of notebooks and Taeil does a sloppy bow and walks outside. As he walks back to the classroom, Taeil catches a glimpse of seven figures dressed in a uniform with masks on entering their school gate. He guesses they’re just cosplayers. What he didn’t expect is for them to open fire at the students still in the courtyard. He drops the notebook in a frenzy and slides down the wall, a futile attempt at hiding. He’s praying to every god up there that they didn’t see him.

“Fuck, what just happened?” He manages. He’s starting to weigh his options. He either stays here and hope for the best, or he makes a run for it. If he stays, there’s a very good possibility of being cornered, and the teachers’ faculty is a room full of windows. But if he makes a run for it, he can escape through the floor’s fire exit that leads to the back of the school. There, he can hide in the tiny forest behind the school. He thinks and thinks and thinks. The weight of his options coming down on his shoulders like three buses stacked on top of one another.

_Should I? Should I not? Fuck, I’m running out of time._

Taeil lets his legs do the bargaining and stands up. He bolts for the end of the hallway where the fire exit was. He opens the door and climbs down the ladder. Once he finally lands on the ground, his flight response kicks in and heads for the forest. He just hopes he did the right thing. As he’s trying to get as far away as possible from the school, he spots two grade schoolers who were also making a run for it. Taeil calls out for them, trying to get their attention.

“Hey, you kids!” He manages to grab their attention. They stop running and Taeil approaches them. “Are you running away from school, too?”

“Yeah. We heard gunshots!” The younger of the two answers.

“Alright, trust me, will you? Let’s all find a good hiding spot until this is all over, yeah?”

“Okay, sunbae.” The older one agrees.

**BUSAN, 7:15 AM KST: Doyoung**

“As expected, I’m the first one to arrive again.” Doyoung smiles to himself. He’s always liked it when he was the first one in the classroom – it gives him some semblance of serenity in the given time that he was all alone. Upon entering high school, he hasn’t really made any friends. It’s not that he can’t make friends, but he just finds having friends as a waste of time and effort. ‘ _They’ll all backstab me anyway,’_ He tells his mother one day when confronted with the topic.

He merrily skips to his seat, and takes out his favorite book to read. Minutes pass and like clockwork, his classmates starts to pile inside the classroom. Soon, the noise becomes unbearable for him and glares at the two rowdy classmates of his.

“Can you please tone it down a bit?” He barks.

“Come on, Kim Doyoung! Loosen up a bit! It’s too early in the day for you to be so worked up!” One of the rowdy boys tells him.

“No thanks, some people actually like peace and quiet.” He snaps back.

“Aish, don’t bother with him, hyung. He’s been like that since grade school.”

“Really? No wonder he doesn’t have friends.” The two snicker as they walk away.

Doyoung tries to ignore the comment, though he must admit, that kind of stung. He pushes the anger boiling inside him down and continue to read his book again. Fortunately, he was able to drown out the unnecessary noises for the most part, but it was his teacher smacking the table that gets his attention the most. Without him noticing, it was already the first period of the day. _Ah, why does high school classes have to start so early?_

He closes his book and tucks it under his table. He sits more properly and readies his notebook and pen. As the class progresses, Doyoung could see that his classmates are nowhere near as enthusiastic as he is about school. He rolls his eyes in annoyance. Then, one of his classmates stands up and stretches his sleepiness away. And as he looked into the window, he saw seven figures in uniform enter their school gate.

“Uh, teacher? I didn’t know the military was visiting our school?” He asks aloud. Doyoung perks up at this.

“What? What is the military doing in our school?” The teacher halts her class and looks out the window. Just as she peeked outside the window, the windows to their classroom shatters, sending shards everywhere. Everyone panics and takes cover. Doyoung saw one of the shards hit his teacher right at her neck, her blood squirting everywhere. To say Doyoung was mortified would be an understatement.

And then there it was. A stinging pain, that travels from his shoulder down to his spine and up to the back of his head. He looks around, and sees the blood stains on his crisp, white uniform. He looks to his left more, and there it was, the cause of his pain. A big shard of glass had penetrated his skin, and stabbed him halfway through his arm.

_Dammit, it’s going to be a pain to sew the cut from the sleeve of my uniform._

He tries to yank the shard away, but even just nudging the glass was painful. He carefully holds the shard, and stands up and heads for the door.

“Where are you going?! Stay still or you might get shot!” One student yell at him through the commotion.

“I’m going to the clinic to get this glass shard off. It’s too painful.” He manages. He steps outside and makes a bee line for the clinic, as quickly as he can. He notices while he walks that the blood won’t stop oozing out and drip down to the floor. At long last, he reaches the clinic on the first floor and heads inside. But to his surprise, he sees the school nurse face down on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood. _Oh, so the attackers have been here?_

Now Doyoung panics, and his fight or flight instinct kicks in. He heads for the fire exit at the end of the hallway and walks out and into the back of the school. He walks along the side of the fence until he reaches the front the school. There, he sloppily climbs over the fence and jump over to the other side. As he landed, the glass shard on his shoulder moves slightly, shooting up a pain so unbearable it’s a miracle he didn’t double over on the pavement. He starts to regain his composure and walks away. As he was about to round the corner, two students appear in front of him; it was Kun and Ten, students from his grade.

“Oh, my fucking God, what happened to you?” Ten asks frantically.

“There was an attacker at our school! They fired at the windows and this shard landed on my shoulder.” Doyoung manages.

“Shit, let’s get you to the hospital!” Kun orders. Him and Ten nod at each other.

“Doyoung – ah, hop on my back, I’ll carry you on the way there.”

“Ah, that’s not necessary.” Doyoung politely declines.

“Now’s not the time for you to be anti-social! You’re losing blood and it probably hurts like a bitch. Hurry up! Climb on my back now!” Ten was persistent.

“Fine! I’m sorry in advance.” He pouts as he hopped on Ten’s back and the three of them run for the hospital.

**BUSAN, 7:45 AM KST: Kun, Ten**

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! We’re so fucking late!” Ten rushes as he hastily downs his cup of coffee.

“Maybe if you hadn’t played games all night we wouldn’t be fucking late!” Kun snaps back at him.

“Well,” Ten thinks for a comeback. “Aren’t you the older one? Why didn’t you scold me?!”

“Oh, so now we’re bringing that to the table?” Kun takes a bit of his sandwich wile smoothing down his uniform.

“Puh – lease, its only irrelevant when it’s convenient for you!”

“Had I been born five minutes earlier we wouldn’t even be having this conversation!”

“And who’s good idea was it to have a sleepover on a Sunday night, hm?” Ten clap backs.

“You agreed to it!”

“Oh, so now it’s my fault?” Kun was bemused by Ten’s reply.

“It doesn’t matter who’s fault it was. We’re already late as it is. Fighting won’t do anything good.”

“Fine.” Ten rolls his eyes.

The two hurriedly finishes their poor excuse of a breakfast and head for the door. They put on their shoes and walk out. It was a few minutes’ walk to the bus stop.

“The bus will be here in two minutes.” Ten informs. 

“Great, now we really have to get an admission slip from the faculty.” Kun whines quite petulantly.

“Oh, cheer up, Kunnie, it can’t be that bad.” Ten smiles.

“We’re only first years and we already have a tardy record.”

“Hey, it’s better to have a tardy record than a disciplinary one!”

“True though.”

The bus arrives minutes later and the two are finally en route to their school. They arrive at the bus stop near their school and have to walk the rest. They are now nineteen minutes late for their first period. As they finally round the corner to their school, Kun and Ten hear what they assume are shots being fired.

“What the fuck? Was that a gun?”

“No shit, Ten. Is it coming from the school? Is the school being under attacked?”

“Fuck, I knew something was fishy when I saw the principal!” Ten exclaims.

“Should we head back?”

“Are you for fucking real? Of course, we’re going back! Ain’t no way I’m dying today!” Ten declares.

Both of them retracts their steps, heading backwards. And as they reach the corner, a student suddenly jumps down on the sidewalk right in front of them.

“Oh, my fucking God, what happened to you?” Ten asks frantically.

“There was an attacker at our school! They fired at the windows and this shard landed on my shoulder.” Doyoung manages.

“Shit, let’s get you to the hospital!” Kun orders. He and Ten nod at each other.

“Doyoung – ah, hop on my back, I’ll carry you on the way there.”

“Ah, that’s not necessary.” Doyoung politely declines.

“Now’s not the time for you to be anti-social! You’re losing blood and it probably hurts like a bitch. Hurry up! Climb on my back now!” Ten was persistent.

Doyoung finally gives in and hops on Ten’s back.

“Fuck, Kunnie, we can’t ride a bus! We have to take a cab there!” The three of them were now running towards a busy street, in hopes of hailing a cab as quickly as possible.

Doyoung, who was now switching between being unconscious and awake, answers nonchalantly, “Or we can call an ambulance?”

“There’s no time! We have to take you there quick!”

“Why are you both so nice to me?”

“Are you serious? You’re bleeding! You just witnessed what could be a school shooting! Even if it wasn’t you, we would still help that person!” Kun addresses Doyoung’s remark.

And by pure luck, they managed to hail a cab just in a nick of time.

“To the nearest hospital, please!” Ten instructs the driver.

**BUSAN, 7:42 AM KST: Jaehyun, Sicheng**

Jeong Jaehyun and Dong Sicheng are the stars of the middle school basketball team. Being in their third year, it comes with a lot of perks; like having a crowd of girls around you at all times, or getting free lunches. They didn’t mind it much, being in their third year and all. They have both expressed that it feels like being an idol without being an actual idol.

“Did you see SNSD’s new music video? Yoona looks so good!” Jaehyun marvels.

“I know, right? I may not have understood a single word they sang, but I could just tell that it’s a bop!” Sicheng exclaims just as excitedly.

“She looks so pretty!”

“I could tell, your ears are red.” Sicheng deadpans.

“Stop looking at my ears!” Jaehyun scolds as he covers his ears.

Just then, the noisy chatter quiets down as their team captain enters the gym. He claps his hands to get everyone’s attention and to huddle up.

“Uh, the coach didn’t really say anything specific that we should do today, so I guess it’s free practice?” Their team captain scratches his head.

The team replies a chorus of yes and some undecipherable comments. The team captain takes one last look at his teammates before heading for a spot on the gym. Soon, the students all scatter to different parts of the gym, practicing on their own or just chatting away. Jaehyun and Sicheng acquires some basketballs from the rack to practice. They both shoot some hoops, adjusting some things here and there, trying to perfect their throw or jump shot.

Thirty-five minutes later, their coach comes running to the gym, covered in sweat and panting hard.

“Everyone! Leave the gym or hide in the storage room! The school is under attack! They just opened fire at the high school building!” All the players look at their coach as if he grew ten heads. “Hurry!” He instructs further. “I’m dead serious! Can’t you hear the gunshots?!”

Jaehyun and Sicheng looks at each other and tries hard to listen carefully. Flabbergasted, one player remarks, “Oh, shit! I can hear it, too!” And this sends everyone into a panic. 

One. Two. Three.

The gunshots start to sound closer and closer to the gym and this shuts everyone up. The players all start to run around not really knowing whether to hide or run. Jaehyun and Sicheng manages to grab their duffel bag and bolt for the fire exit next to the storage room. They see their team captain hiding behind a landing mat on their way out. Outside, there wasn’t really many options to hide.

“Fuck,” Jaehyun curses. “Maybe we should’ve hid in the storage room!”

“You’re joking right?” Sicheng laughs while looking for a hiding spot. “Didn’t you hear the gunshots getting closer?”

Fortunately, they spot the water tank near the outdoor faucet.

“Sicheng – ah, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“It was a pleasure knowing you, my friend.” Sicheng shakes Jaehyun’s hand.

“Likewise.” Jaehyun smiles, bread cheeks on full display. He kicks the water tank to check if it was empty. Luckily, it was. He pries open the lid and climbs inside, trying to find a comfortable sitting position.

“Is there any space left?” Sicheng calls out.

“Yeah, come in!” Jaehyun answers.

Sicheng climbs inside as well and closes the lid. He gets into a crouching position in front of Jaehyun.

And just as Sicheng was about to speak, the loud thunder of bullets being fired reached within their hearing distance.

“Fuck. I think everyone’s dead already!” He whispers. Jaehyun immediately shuts him up by putting a finger on his mouth.

 _“Be quiet!”_ Jaehyun mouths.

As they heard footsteps just outside of the water tank, they both put a hand over their mouth to cover the sound of their breathing. Jaehyun is horrified, Sicheng thinks that he was too young to die. Thinks that he should’ve listened to his parents more.

Surprisingly, the attackers just walk past them, but neither want to move or make a sound.

**BUSAN, 8:02 AM KST: Jungwoo**

_Ah, I can’t believe I have to be here again_ was the first thing Jungwoo thought of when he entered the library. He doesn’t exactly hate studying; he just finds it too troublesome and would rather do something fun.

He fixes the scowl on his face and spots an empty chair at the far back of the library. He plops down and takes out his books and his headphones. He turns on the music and starts to read, casually checking his phone every once in a while. It wasn’t exam season but surprisingly, there’s a lot of students today.

He was getting to the last few pages of the chapter when one student screams out loud suddenly.

“The school’s under attack! I saw some high school students getting shot at on my way here! Everyone, hide!”

The students in the room didn’t believe the student at first, because let’s be honest, who would? Saying the school was under attack? On a Monday?

“Stop saying nonsense! If the school was under attack, we would have heard gunshots by now!”

“It’s true! There were seven of them! All in uniform!”

“That’s just prepos - “ Glass shards starts flying everywhere and some of it hits the students in the room.

Jungwoo takes cover under the table first, and starts to crawl away from the commotion quietly. He starts to panic, not really fully grasping what was going on or if the school was really under attack. But it was the door bursting open and the roar of gunshots that was the cherry on top. He tries to stay as low as possible, using the books on the lowest shelf as cover, making sure the attackers don’t see him. As he goes along, he sees that some of the students, his classmates, start dropping on the floor with blood oozing out of their head or their chest.

Jungwoo was stunned. He couldn’t process anything anymore. It was morbid and horrifying and he’s not exactly sure how he can erase the images from his memory. But he pushes that aside and needs to find a safe place. Luckily, he spots the librarian’s desk and squeezes under it. There, he sees the boxes of books yet to be shelved and uses it as a blockage for the desk. He stays quiet and still, praying that they don’t notice him.

The attackers continue to open fire, and more and more bodies fall to the floor, the smell of blood overwhelming him. Their footsteps start to get closer and closer to where he is, and he closes his eyes in response. _I’m gonna die. I’m so sorry mom. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you live a comfortable life._

**BUSAN, 7:50 AM KST: Lucas, Dejun, Hendery, Mark**

“Okay, rebound!” Mark exclaims. He tries to swipe the ball away from Lucas, but deep down he knows it’s a futile attempt.

“Are you serious?” Dejun laughs as he sees Mark struggling to steal the ball.

“Nice, try Canada boy!” Lucas taunts as he passes the ball to Hendery. Hendery gets the ball and dribbles to the other end of the court, earning a score.

“Now that wasn’t fair!” Mark complains. “I would’ve had it if it wasn’t for Lucas’ giant hands!” He complains some more.

“How is that not fair? You should’ve drank your milk when your parents told you so!” Lucas teases.

“Hey, fuck you!” Both Dejun and Hendery burst out laughing. “Stop laughing!” Mark whines.

“Okay, enough, enough.” Dejun orders, calming down after laughing. “Let’s get some more baskets before class starts.” 

“Okay!” Hendery agrees.

“We can be a little late you know, we’re first years now!” Lucas jokes.

“Absolutely not! The teachers will be on our tail for the next three years!” Hendery retorts.

“And so, what? We’ll just run away from them!”

“Please keep your inappropriate habits to yourself, please.” Dejun deadpans.

“Hey!” Lucas answers dejectedly. The other three erupt in a chorus of laughter, holding their stomachs from laughing too hard.

The four continue to shoot some hoops, casually bantering in between.

In the near distance, Hendery hears what he assumes are fireworks. “Did you guys hear that firework?”

“Fireworks?” Dejun couldn’t believe what his friend was saying. “At eight o’clock in the morning?”

“I thought I heard it.”

“You should sleep some more at night, Hendery. You’re starting to hear things!” Mark teases.

“Lay off on the alcohol. You shouldn’t even be drinking yet!” Lucas taunts.

“Fuck you, Lucas! I’m not some fratboy wannabe like you!” Hendery bites back.

“Will you two stop it? There, there it is again!” Dejun calls out. “And another one!”

“Okay, but,” Mark looks up, trying to find the fireworks. “I have seen fireworks in broad daylight before, but they weren’t that invisible for me not to see them.”

“What if it’s a gun?” Lucas wonders out loud.

“What?” Dejun was shocked to say the least.

“A school shooting? Nah, man, that’s impossible!” Mark reasons.

“What. The. Fuck.” Hendery manages through his stunned phase. He spots a student running away with blood all over the left side of his body. “Oh, shit you guys! I Think we are under attack! Look!” Hendery grabs the attention of his friends and points at the student running away.

“Oh, my god! Run! Follow him! He’s probably heading to the exit!” Lucas orders.

“How do you know he’s running to the exit?” Dejun asks in a panicked state.

“Well, do you have any other idea?” Lucas stares him down. Dejun couldn’t mutter another word. He nods his head in agreement and looks at the other two, who also nod their heads.

The four of them run after the student, still in a frenzy, not really being able to process the situation. As they reach the school gate, they run towards the opposite direction and into the busy street round the corner.

**BUSAN, 8:05 AM KST: Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang**

The Busan Art Youth Competition is an annual art competition comprised of mainly grade school students from all over Busan to showcase their talents in the arts. The competition is divided into three main categories; visual arts, literary arts, and performing arts. One of the schools competing is Busan International School for the visual arts category. Their participants are all from the sixth grade; Renjun and Haechan from class 1, Jaemin from class 2, and Jeno and Yangyang from class 3.

The participants are currently in the art room finishing up their paper mâché sculpture.

“Just a little more here, I guess?” Renjun instructs.

“Oh my gosh, Injunnie, make up your mind!” Haechan was about to lose it. “We’ve moved his head six times already!” Both Yangyang and Jaemin snicker at Haechan’s hotheadedness.

“I’m trying to find a good angle for the head! Why don’t we switch places, huh? You be the leader!”

“Gladly!” Haechan huffs. “What’s so hard about finding a good position for a head anyway?”

“Will you two please stop arguing? Just tell us where to put this ugly head!” Jeno is the second to lose his composure.

“Hey, it’s not ugly! I worked all yesterday afternoon on that!” Jaemin scolds.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jaemin – ah.” Jeno apologizes, all signs of his aggressiveness gone with the wind.

“Right, as I was saying, put it here, right here.” Renjun points to a spot in the neck area of the sculpture. Once they managed to glue the head, Yangyang makes an exasperated sigh.

“He looks like he got chopped in the neck by Bruce Lee.” He deadpans.

“Agreed, take it off.” Renjun orders. The other four grunt in anger. At the same time, their teacher opens the door to the room and rushes inside.

“Everyone, please hide somewhere!” Their teacher whisper yells as she scans the rooms. “There, in the lockers, go inside and lock yourself in! Don’t open it for anybody, okay?”

The students look at each confused, then back to their teacher. “Teacher, what’s going on? Why do we have to hide?” Jaemin was the first to ask a question.

“Children, the school is being under attacked! Please just go inside and stay quiet, okay? Who knows when they’ll be here!”

“Okay?” Jeno speaks, not really sure how to respond. The five of them obliges regardless, each going inside an empty locker and locking it from the inside. They’re not really sure if their teacher took cover as well, but they hope for the best. After a long while, the door creaks open, and the ringing sound of the rifle muzzle scratching the tiled floors envelopes them. And then, a single gunshot was heard, followed by something or someone knocking over art supplies before landing on the floor with a loud thud. The footsteps come closer to the locker, and one of the attackers tries to open one of the lockers, but it was locked. Angered, they try again, and when it still didn’t work, they try kicking it. Jaemin, who was inside the locker, starts tearing up and covers his ears. He tries to suppress the tears coming out, scared that he might make a sound.

“Yah, just leave it. The teacher probably evacuated the students into other rooms already.” One of the attackers spoke. “Let’s go, there’s still a few more classrooms to ransack.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” The other attacker replies.

**BUSAN, 8:00 AM KST: Chenle, Jisung**

Chenle had always had this habit of coming to school early. It all started back in kindergarten when his mom insisted on the idea. _Tardiness is a sin, Ah Chen,_ his mom would always say. But surprisingly, ever since moving to Korea, he’s found someone who comes to school earlier than him. He walks through the front courtyard and makes a bee line for the playground in front of the grade school building. There he spots his hoobae, Jisung.

“Ah, Chenle – ah!” Jisung waves as he rushes over to Chenle.

“Yah, where are your manners? I’m a year older than you!”

“Technically, you’re only two months older than me, but whatever floats your boat, Chenle – ah.”

“Aish, you.” Chenle scrunches his nose.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Jisung asks eagerly.

“I don’t know. It’s only us this morning. Yangyang hyung and Renjun hyung are busy finishing their project.”

“Ah, that’s too bad.” Jisung looks down for a moment before coming up with a bright idea and looks at Chenle. “Hey, how about we race through the monkey bars? The loser has to buy snacks later for the winner!”

“Game!” Chenle agrees.

They take their positions at one end of the monkey bar. “Okay,” Chenle starts. “One, two, three, go!”

Both Chenle and Jisung jump up to grab the first bar and hurriedly crosses the money bar. Jisung was leading for the first half, but Chenle skipped a bar and manages to overtake Jisung. In Jisung’s surprised state, he misses the next bar and falls down, landing on his bottom.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

“No, it’s not!” Chenle smiles as he pushes forward to the last few bars.

“No skipping bars!” Jisung cries.

“That’s not a rule!”

“You’re right, it’s not a rule! It’s called being a nice friend, Chenle – ah!”

“Boohoo, are you going to cry?” Chenle teases.

“No, of course not!” Jisung manages. But Chenle could see that Jisung was in fact about to cry. He climbs down the monkey bar and walks over to Jisung.

“Hey, I was only joking. I’m sorry, okay? Do you want a rematch?” Chenle tries to soothe Jisung. But it was to no avail. Jisung was still covering his face with his hands. “Yah, Jisung – ah, I said I’m sorry, okay? Don’t tell Renjun hyung that I made you cry and I’ll buy you some tteokbokki later, alright?”

“Really?” Jisung finally looks up, tears still in his eyes.

“Really!” Chenle smiles again, relieved to see that his friend has taken the bait.

“Okay!” Jisung beams, no sign of crying from earlier visible. “Let’s have that rematch! No more skipping bars!”

“I can’t make any promises.”

“Chenle – ah!” Chenle just laughs and Jisung lightly smacks him on the chest.

And suddenly, they hear a sound.

“What was that?” Jisung looks at Chenle, a puzzled look on his face. “That’s not how a firework is supposed to sound, right?” Chenle looks back at Jisung, a mortified expression on his face. “Should we look?”

“Jisung – ah! Don’t be dumb! That’s how characters in movies die! It’s best if we stay away as possible and look for help.” Chenle scolds.

“As expected, Chenle sunbae is so cool.”

“I know I’m cool.” Chenle boasts. “Now, let’s go to the forest to our favorite hiding spot and call for help. I brought my hand phone today.”

“I just hope there’s service there today.”

They walk away from the playground and exit through the back gate, which was usually locked, unless someone unlocked it. They start walking through forest, and when they hear more gunshots, they start to make a run for it.

In the close distance, they hear a man calling out to them. “Hey, you kids!”

Chenle looks back at the man, and notices that the man was in fact a student, a high school student. He grabs Jisung by his shirt to stop him from running further.

“Are you running away from school, too?”

“Yeah. We heard gunshots!” Jisung shakily answers, trying to regain his composure.

“Alright, trust me, will you? Let’s all find a good hiding spot until this is all over, yeah?”

“Okay, sunbae.” Chenle thought that the student looks reliable enough.

Busan Broadcasting Station

@BBSNEWS

5 minutes ago

BREAKING NEWS! A school from a suburban area in Busan was allegedly under attack by seven unidentified gunmen carrying semi – automatic rifles in uniforms. Initial investigations have begun and from the CCTV footage retrieved from the school, it reveals that the gunmen came in from the school main gate at 8:15 AM this morning and ceaselessly open fired at the students populating the front courtyard followed by shooting at every individual; student, teacher, and staff. After the shooting, the gunmen fled to a waiting van parked outside of the main gate at 8:44 AM. The police are still investigating if there are any survivors. This story is still developing. Stay tuned for more.

It was now half past ten o’clock. The police are starting to get worried since there seems to be no sign of life in the school. It was eerily quiet, the hallways are empty, there’s dead bodies everywhere, and the pungent smell of blood was so nauseating.

“It’s a fucking bloodbath in here.” One officer breaks the silence.

“Whoever those bastards are, are sick in the head. No normal human would be able to pull this off.” As they walk along, they see a student, no older than seven, splayed out on the floor with three bullet wounds in the forehead. It was sickening. So many hopes and dreams lost today.

 _Sir! We found some survivors! Come here quick!_ Blasted through the transceiver, finally filling some noise in the deserted floor. The officer quickly responds, “Where are they? What building?”

 _In the middle school gym, just outside! Two students managed to hide inside a water tank!_ Came the glorious reply.

“Kids these days are getting smarter.” The officer comments as they bolt outside. “A water tank? Never heard that before.”

“Hey, when you’re in a life and death situation, anything works.”

When the two officers arrive at the scene, two firefighters were helping two students out of the water tank. They approach the two students swiftly.

“Hey, are you two okay? Did you happen to see who the attackers were? Their faces?” The officer tries to question the two. But the students seemed to be still shaken up, not being able to make eye contact. “It’s okay, take you time. You both went through a lot today. Take some rest first and we’ll come back for you two later.”

“Sir!” A CSI walks toward the officer. “We found other students. They’re in the high school building. There’s three of them apparently.”

“Oh, thank you God!” The officer looks up, tears swelling in his eyes. “How are they? Are they conscious? Unharmed? Can they talk?”

“They’re inside the lockers inside their classroom, but they won’t open up. They still think we’re the attackers in disguise.”

“Ah, get the detective in there. They’ll know how to handle them.”

“Alright, I’ll do just that.” The CSI bows and walks away.

“Excuse me.” Another voice broke. The officer looks to his right and see the two students who were inside the water tank. “I’m Jaehyun and this is Sicheng, we’re in our third year of middle school. Uh,” Jaehyun scratches his head. “We didn’t exactly see who they were, we just knew that they had masks on and that they killed everyone.”

“It’s alright, Jaehyun - ah, the only thing that matters is that you and Sicheng are okay.”

“I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry, kid. It’s not your fault. We’ll do our best to catch whoever they are, alright?” Jaehyun nods in agreement. “Cheer up, kid. We’ll all get over this.”

“Can we see our parents now?”

“Ah, that.” The officer pauses and tries to find the right words to say. “You see, you may not see them for a while.”

“What? Why?” Jaehyun cries.

“Well, it’s complicated. But you and your friend, along with all the other survivors if any, will be living in a building far away from here for protection. We’re just making sure they don’t come back for you in case they find out that you guys are still alive.”

“But what about school?” Sicheng finally speaks, still a little shaken.

“Well, as you can see, school’s out for the rest of the year. Maybe next year?”

“Okay. Can we at least call our parents to let them now we’re okay?”

_“The police are doing just that for you kids so just sit tight, okay?”_

“Okay, officer.”

“Alright, you two can head over to the ambulance over to get checked.” The officer instructs the two. Both Jaehyun and Sicheng obliges and bows as they walk away.

At the high school building, the detective in charge is still deliberating with the three high school students.

“I can assure you; we are not the gunmen who attacked your school!”

“And how can we be sure you’re not just fucking with us?” Johnny calls out.

“This is getting ridiculous.” The detective turns away and faces his team. He lets out an exasperated sigh and turns back around again. “If you don’t cooperate, we won’t have any choice but to pry open the doors!”

“Please, just leave us alone! We’ll get out of here when we feel it’s safe!” Taeyong pleads.

“But it is safe now! The police are here!”

“Uh, detective?” It was the officer from before. “I think I have a way to get them out.”

 _“Hyung.”_ Was all it took for Johnny to frantically unlock the locker.

“Jaehyun!” He exclaims as he runs towards the younger. Upon hearing the commotion, both Taeyong and Yuta carefully unlocks their locker as well.

“Hyung!” Jaehyun was enveloped into a hug by Johnny.

“I’m so glad you’re alive!” Johnny lets go of Jaehyun and cups his cheeks. “I thought you died! I thought I was gonna die!”

“We’re alive, hyung! I can’t believe it either!”

Jaehyun – ah, did any of your classmates survive as well?” Taeyong asks carefully.

“No.” Jaehyun starts. Taeyong looks down. “But Sicheng is alive.” He smiles. At this, Taeyong perks up.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

“You said classmate! Sicheng isn’t my classmate, he’s my teammate.”

“Still!”

“Detective, did anybody else survive?” Yuta finally speaks up, the shock from earlier was starting to wear off.

“There’s a middle school student who hid in the library. We just found out a minute ago before this kid walked in.”

“Anybody else?”

“Until we can account for all the remains, we can’t be sure. We still need to tally to make sure the numbers are right.”

“I hope a lot of students made it out alive.”

 _Officer, we found five sixth graders alive in the grade school building! They’re all unharmed but a little shaken up. We’re escorting them now to the ambulance,_ a voice informs through the transceiver.

“My god, they even killed the children?” Johnny wonders.

“You wanna see the grade one classrooms?” The detective offers.

“No thank you. I’m good.” Johnny gulps down a saliva.

“Right, you three, go on to the ambulance to get checked. And then we’re all taking you downtown.”

“Will we get to talk to our parents?” Taeyong asks.

“No.” The detective sternly says. “Until we catch the perpetrators, we’ll have to put all the survivors into the witness protection program. It’s for your own good, kids.”

“Wait, will our parents know?”

“No. They might be endangered if the suspects find out you made contact with them. Listen, let me explain myself. We’re going to make it seem like no one survived this incident.” That takes the three high school students by surprise. “We’re putting you all into witness protection to make sure they don’t come after you. We’ll be putting you all in a safe facility just outside of Busanjin - gu for security. We’ll inform your parents of your passing, but when all of this over, you’re all free to go home.”

“Isn’t that a little too much? Telling our parents that we died when we didn't?” Jaehyun speaks up.

“We’re saving your lives and theirs, kid.”

“But I don’t get it! Why can’t we just tell them that we’re alive but we’re being held in a facility for our protection and theirs?”

“Listen! Listen to me. Who’s to say those killers don’t have a record of all the students in this school? Who’s to say they don’t have your faces plastered on a wall in their base God knows where? And who’s to say they don’t have your parents, your siblings, hell, even your pets’ records and data as well, huh?” This shuts everyone up, even the police officer and the CSI’s in the room. “Did you think they just came in here and start shooting people for the fun of it? No. This is an organized crime. Which means they planned this, are well prepared for it. We’re just taking extra precautionary measures for your safety and your family’s safety.”

“Listen, kids. We know what we’re doing. Have a little faith in us.” The officer consoles. “Who knows, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, you might be able to go home.” He tries to shed some light in this gruesome situation.

“I understand now. We’ll oblige and follow your orders.” Johnny bows and brings Jaehyun closer to him. “But, please let us be together. All four of us – “

“Sicheng, too!” Jaehyun interjects.

“Five of us.” Johnny corrects himself.

“Alright, I think that can be arranged.”

The students are then escorted downstairs to the ambulance parked outside. There, Jaehyun spots Sicheng, who was sitting next to another student.

“Hello.” Jaehyun politely greets. From the number of stripes in his tie, Jaehyun could tell that he was a junior of his.

“Oh, hello sunbae.” The students bow in respect. Jaehyun read the name plate, it read Kim Jung Woo.

“Jungwoo – ssi? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, sunbae. Thank you for worrying about me. Sicheng sunbae here helped me calm down a bit.”

“Today’s been a long day, huh?”

“Yeah, but for a second there I thought I was gonna die.”

“Didn’t we all?”

Over on the side, a group of _younger kids_ are currently being escorted to the ambulance from the grade school building.

“Oh, it’s Haechan – ah.”

“You know them?” Jaehyun asks.

“Haechan is my neighbor.” Jungwoo smiles at his dongsaeng. “Haechan – ah!” He calls out.

Haechan, who was still busy wiping his nose to his shirt, looks up, and once he sees who was calling him, runs towards Jungwoo at full speed.

“Jungwoo hyung!” The younger cries out. Jungwoo welcomes Haechan with open arms and engulfs him in a bear hug.

“Shh, it’s okay now. Hyung is here.” Jungwoo soothes. “Aish, stop crying! You’re such a big baby!”

“Hyung!” Haechan manages through his sobs. “Hyung!”

“Hey now, it’s okay. You’re alive and you’re with me now. Everything will be okay, okay?” Haechan nods in acknowledgement.

The other four sixth graders bow in respect to all the sunbaes present.

“I’m glad to know more and more people are showing up alive.” Sicheng remarks.

“Me too.”

Over on the other side of the street, where the police cruisers were parked, a police officer breaks a devastating news to the detective in charge.

“What do you mean this is all of the survivors? There are one thousand five hundred people in this school, and you’re trying to tell me only ten survived? Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“We’ve cross tallied about half of the school population already, and only less than one percent came back positive.”

“Oh my god.” The detective couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.

“However, we increased the range for searching, and we found three students who were unharmed hiding in the small forest at the back of the school. There are also four students we found in a corner store. We’ve also started looking for any students who were admitted today to a hospital or clinic within a two-mile radius and so far, we found three students as well. Two were unharmed and one is currently receiving treatment for his injured shoulder.”

“Finally, some good news!” The detective breathes out. “Okay, keep up the search and let me know of any news.”

“Of course, detective. I’ll be on my way then.”

It was now the next day, all twenty-one students, ranging from the fourth grade up unto third year in high school are gathered in a room with the detective in charge.

“Good morning, everyone. Please get yourself comfortable and listen carefully.” He instructs the students. He wants to be relieved to see that only one student in this cluster was harmed. But really, he’s scared out of wits because _this_ is the only cluster there is. “As you might have all known, out of the thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and staff in your school, you lot are the only one who survived.” He lets the weight of his words sink into the students before continuing. “As hard as it may seem, it’s true.” The students stayed quiet, though he does hear some faint sniffling among the group. “And from this day on, until the suspects are put behind bars, all of you will be living a new life with a new name. However, as you were briefed last night, you are not allowed to make contact with all your family members; immediate and extended, your friends, teachers, anybody. This is for your protection and theirs.”

“Yes, we understand.” Taeyong speaks up.

“Good. For the time being, while we fix everything for you, you’ll be staying in this facility. Here, you’ll be attending a make shift class so you can still get an education and you’ll also be receiving one on one and group therapy as well.”

“Understood. Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for us so far.” Taeil stands up and bows to the detective.

“It’s our job to protect the citizens of this country, no matter how young or if they speak a different language.”

Sadly, it wasn’t going well. It was supposed to go well, but it wasn't. Every time Taeyong is engulfed in silence, all he hears are gunshots. Every time the lights are off, all he sees are the dead bodies lying on the floor, blood pooling around them. It’s only been two weeks but Taeyong already wants to leave. He wants to feel something else other than fear, wants to do something else other than study and go to therapy. But he tells himself that it’s for his own good.

“Oh, dude tell me about it. I wanna feel the wind in my face again.” Johnny comments one afternoon.

“This is so boring. I’m so tired of seeing your faces every day.” Taeil teases.

“Wow, hyung. I don’t know if I should feel offended or say the same.” Haechan muses.

“Just thinking about being here with you guys for the rest of my life makes me want to eat fruits instead.” Ten adds.

“I can’t believe I’m stringing this sentence but, I hope you eat fruits and die, then.” Yangyang taunts.

“Yangyang! What was that?” Sicheng scolds the younger.

“What? I didn’t know it would be that easy to take down Ten – ge.”

Taeyong walks in on the other students bantering, all huddled on the couch. Despite the heavy trauma that they’re experiencing, seeing them like this makes it feel a little less lonely, like he’s found a family in them. He walks over to where the commotion was.

“Hey, everyone. You guys wanna run away with me?” It takes a couple beats for the words to register in everyone’s head.

“What?” Haechan was startled.

“Think about it. It’s been two weeks. They promised they would find whoever those suspects were in the first week. Aren’t you guys tired of this? I am.”

“Well, we’re tired of it, too. But didn’t they say it’s for our own good?”’ Ten interposes.

“Are you really believing the lies spewing out of their mouth? It’s obvious they can’t catch the bad guys. We’ll be stuck here forever unless we do something about it.” Taeyong holds his ground. “I say we get out of here and find them ourselves.”

“And how are going to do that?” Taeil finally joins the conversation.

“We’ll bring the attention to us. We’ll make a noise, a ruckus. Lure them in. And when they realize who we are, we’ll trap them and bring them over to the police.”

“Taeyong ah, my dear friend, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, you do realize we’re high school kids, right? Actually, only seven of us, the rest are actual kids.” Johnny interrupts.

“Who said anything about bringing the kids into this? It’s just gonna be us.”

“Yeah, no buddy. I want to live. I have so many dreams I’ve yet to achieve.”

“But how? We’re stuck here. They’re never gonna catch those motherfuckers anyway.” Taeil reasons.

“Hyung! No swearing, please!” Sicheng scolds.

“Come on guys, don’t you want an adventure? If we get caught loitering outside the facility, they’re just going to dump us back in here anyway.”

“Hm, that is kinda true.” Taeil hums.

“Right? Come on!” Taeyong’s eyes grew bigger in excitement. “Where are the others?”

“Some are still in therapy and some are still taking classes.” Haechan informs.

“Okay, we’ll meet after dinner. And then, we’re running away after that.”

“Wait, already? We’re doing this tonight?” Sicheng was flabbergasted.

“It’s now or never, right?”

Later that night, all twenty-one of them we’re cramped in Taeyong and Yuta’s room.

“We’re running away?” Chenle almost yelled.

“Keep it down, Chenle – ah!” Renjun scolds the younger.

“I agree with Taeyong.” Yuta starts. “I’m so sick of this place. And don’t even get me started on the food.”

“Oh, my god the food.” Jeno facepalms himself. “I used to love jjajamyeon, but I don’t think I can eat another bowl.”

“My point exactly.” Taeyong agrees. “So, how about it? Is everyone on board?”

“I don’t know, hyung. How are we gonna survive outside? We have no money, no phone, we don’t even have clothes to change into.” Hendery interrupts.

“Why don’t we just go home once we get out of here?” Jungwoo suggests.

“That’s easy for you guys to say. Me and Johnny don’t really have a place to go to.” Mark rebuts.

“Us too.” Renjun points to himself and Chenle.

“Exactly why we’re not going home! We’re going to stick together. We’re each other’s family now. It’s us against the world.” Taeyong tries. “Come on now, are you guys in or not? We’re running out of time. It’ll be our curfew soon.”

“Okay, let’s say we agree to run away, how are we going to do that?” Kun asks.

“Simple. You see that window?” Taeyong points to the window in his room.

“Taeyong - ah, that’s a three-story drop. None of us is going to survive that fall.” Taeil comments.

“We’re not going to jump! Are you guys for real?” To be honest, that was kinda funny to Taeyong. “I saw some ropes in the storage room earlier. We’ll use that to climb down.”

“So, like mission impossible type?” Johnny wiggles his eyebrows.

“Eugh, hyung, don’t ever do that ever again.” Jaehyun jokes. Johnny winks at the younger to annoy him more.

“Okay, is everyone in?” Taeyong asks one last time. The other students all look at each other; contemplating and thinking hard. Finally, they gave each other one last nod.

“Okay, we’re in.” Yuta concludes and Taeyong smiles at this.

“Great, now we just need to wake Jisung up and we’re all good to go.” Mark jokes.

“Ah, one more thing, guys.” Taeyong almost forgot the most important thing. “Take off your bracelets and leave them on your bed.” He points to the black rubber bracelets they were all wearing. It was obvious that it has a tracking device in it. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. “That way, they won’t be able to track us down when we get out.”

“Understood, _boss_.” Jaemin jokes.

Boss? Taeyong kinda liked how that sounds.

One thing Taeyong learned about Mark tonight is that he’s a really good distraction, not only that, but he’s also really good with words. Taeil on the other hand is tasked with sneaking into the storage room to retrieve the ropes. Once Taeil was ready to return to Taeyong and Yuta’s room, Mark springs into action and starts up a conversation with the roving guard to give Taeil time to move. And when Doyoung walks by Mark, that’s his signal to leave and return to the room as well.

“Hyung! Did you get the ropes?” Taeyong asks eagerly once Taeil was in the room.

“Yeah, I think this should be enough for us.”

“But first, your bracelets. Leave them in your room.” Taeyong instructs. Everyone nods and piles out of the room and into their respective rooms. Once he was done with removing the bracelet, Haechan checks to see if there are any roving guards in the corridor. Thankfully, there wasn’t. And then he remembers that there’s only some time left before curfew. He rushes out of the room and into Taeyong and Yuta’s room a few doors down.

“Is everyone here?” Taeyong does a head count. “Okay, everyone’s accounted for. Johnny?”

“It’s my pleasure.” Johnny smiles. He then proceeds to open the window and takes a good look down below. There wasn’t a single guard in sight. Well, there are guards on the watch towers, but they’re both busy watching some k – drama to even notice some kids trying to escape. Satisfied, he throws the rope down. It was long enough that there were even a few feet of allowance. “All clear!” He informs as he ducks his head back inside.

“Okay, we’ll start with Yuta to make sure someone’s able to catch someone if they ever fall, then Jisung, then Chenle and so on. The younger kids go on first.” Taeyong instructs. Soon, Yuta was climbing over the window and down onto the rope. He starts climbing down and once he was on the ground; he waves over to Jisung.

“I’m scared.” Jisung was just about to tear up now.

“Don’t be a scaredycat, Jisung – ah. I’ll meet you down there, okay? You’re just going first. I’ll be right behind you.” Chenle reassures.

“Okay, promise?”

“I promise, Park Jisung. Now go! Yuta hyung is waiting for you already.”

“Okay.” Jisung nods in agreement and starts to climb down as well. Chenle follows once Jisung was already halfway down. After about five minutes, all twenty-one of them had managed to climb down and are now crouched down on the grass. They sneakily walk over to the fence on the far end and hurriedly and sloppily climb over it. Johnny was the first to climb over while Taeyong was the last. They start running towards the back alley and into a quiet street. There, Ten suggest that they go to the abandoned port to hide for the meantime and hopefully find some change of clothes. Determined, they make their way there hastily, not stopping for even a second. Once they got there, the older ones managed to spot an empty container and huddle inside. It wasn’t exactly the most ventilated, but it’ll do for now.

“Okay, leader. What’s our next step?” Taeil looks at Taeyong while trying to catch his breath.

“Find some change of clothes. Do you think we’ll find some here?”

“I doubt it.” Johnny disagrees. “I did see a charity store on the way here. Maybe we could find some there?”

“Okay, we’ll try that. Me, Johnny, and Yuta will go. Taeil hyung, can you watch over them for the meantime?” Taeil gives him a thumbs up in response, still panting. Taeyong nods in acknowledgement and heads out, Yuta and Johnny trailing behind him.

“Do you think they’ll give us clothes? I mean, do you think they’ll even let us in?” Yuta wonders.

“We’ll just say we’re looking for costumes.”

“Aren’t we already wearing one?” Johnny comments while looking down at their cream white top and bottom they had on.

“They’ll just think we’re some theater kids. It’ll be fine.” Taeyong dismisses.

When they reach the shop, they were greeted by the shop owner who scans the three of them from head to toe before going back to whatever she was doing behind the counter. The three students start looking for decent looking clothes and shoes. It takes them a while, but they’ve managed to find the good-looking ones given the situation. Johnny takes it to the to counter and the shop owner starts counting the pieces of clothes.

“Aren’t these a bit too small for you three? Especially for you?” She looks at Johnny.

“Ah, this one, it’s for my younger brother. I just think it looks cute so I want to give it to him.”

“And why do you need these many clothes?”

“They’re costumes, ma’am. We’re using them for a play.” Yuta interrupts.

“Ah, okay. Then, just write you three’s name and signature here and your good to go.”

“Oh, okay.” Johnny takes the pen and writes down on the paper; “Bak Chun Hyung” followed by a signature. He’s not gonna lie, that’s the first time he’s ever done a signature with his new name. Yuta follows suit, and writes “Ryeo Jin Ho” then signs. Taeyong then writes “Gwang Jung Hee” and signs.

“Thank you. Have fun in your play! Break a leg!” The shop owner calls out as the three walks out.

“I can’t believe I almost wrote in Japanese there.” Yuta lightly slaps himself.

“I almost wrote ‘Seo’ there as well!” Johnny joins in.

“I just can’t believe my name’s ‘Gwang Jung Hee’ now. Like that’s the most unattractive name I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

“At least your name’s still in Korean.” Yuta deadpans.

“I’m so sorry, Yuta – san.” Taeyong taunts in Japanese.

“Oh, fuck off. Let’s just head back.” The other two snicker at Yuta’s remark while they walk back to the port.

“Hi, kids! Dad’s home!” Johnny exclaims as he enters the container.

“Hi, honey! Welcome home!” Ten plays along.

“I brought everyone clothes! Here, have a look.” Johnny puts down the bag and everyone starts to huddle around the bags.

“You three have yours already?” Taeil asks to either of the three.

“Yeah, we picked them already when we were still in the shop.” Taeyong responds.

“Oh! A Mazinger Z t - shirt!” Jeno holds it up. “I’ve always wanted one of these!”

“Glad to know you guys somehow liked the clothes we picked. “Yuta shyly states.

“As long as we change out of these awful clothes.” Mark jokes.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what are we going to do now?” Doyoung interposes.

“Sleep first. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” Haechan answers as he walks past Doyoung to sit next to Jaemin.

“I agree. It’s been a long night for us. Let’s get some rest and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.” They all start to settle down and spot places where they want to sleep. They were a tangled mess; one was sleeping on one’s leg, the other sleeping on one’s stomach, even on someone’s armpit. Either way, it was sort of comfortable, as long as they were together.

A new day dawns and the older ones have decided to look for a part time job just so that they can earn enough for food. Then, Yangyang suggests that they take a risk and head to Seoul. There, not only will the police won’t be able to find them, but it’ll be an even bigger playground for them. He also mentions that he overheard the detective one day that there were traces of the attackers in Seoul. The eldest four gives it some thought, and agrees that Yangyang is right.

That was the plan, but with each passing day, it proves to be even harder and harder. On the first day, they barely managed to get food by begging a bakery to give them the leftovers for the day – that was only one meal for the entire day. On the second day, Jungwoo and Sicheng found a worn-out net near the deck and uses it to fish, except all they got were garbage and a human arm. Sicheng has never ran so fast in his life. Today, who knows what kind bad luck they’ll be running into.

And as a last resort, it was Doyoung who pulled some strings and somehow convinced a supervisor from a small-time logistics company to let them do manual labor, and by manual labor they meant carry boxes all day for thirty-six thousand won (30$) a day. It was more than enough to help them survive for the mean time. Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Kun, and Ten will work while Doyoung will stay with the young ones since his shoulder still hasn’t healed completely.

For the first time in a while, things were looking up. It’s been a week and the police still hasn’t found them (but Taeyong expected that. If they can’t find murderers, which was their job, what more twenty - one homeless kids living in a container?) and their job at the logistics company is making ends meet. They can now afford to eat two meals a day, buy a change of clothes for everyone, and still have some left to save for their bus ticket to Seoul. It felt peaceful. In the week since they left the facility, he hasn’t thought of the horror that happened in their school, too busy to take care of everyone to even think about it.

“Four hundred eighty, four hundred eighty-one, four hundred eighty-two, four hundred eighty-three!” Doyoung counts the money they’ve saved up for their bus ticket. “And look, we still a few left for food and for an emergency fund.”

“And it only took us a month! That’s a record!” Johnny exclaims.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll head to Seoul tomorrow!” Taeyong claps his hand in excitement.

“We’re really leaving?” Chenle looks up at his hyung.

“Yes, Chenle. We’re finally going to Seoul tomorrow!”

“Yes! Finally! I’ve been wanting to see Han river since I came to Korea!”

“Then I’d be honored to take you there.” Taeyong smiles at the younger.

“Thank you, hyung!” Chenle hugs Taeyong on the neck. Taeyong smiles even bigger and pats Chenle’s head.

Taeyong knows that they’ll all be sleeping with smiling faces tonight. It’s a start, Taeyong thought.

**SEOUL, 10:36 AM KST**

As soon as they hop off the bus at Gyeongbu Bus Terminal, the younger kids couldn’t help but jump in their place in anticipation. It’s a whole new world here in Seoul. There are so many new things to try, places to explore, food to eat, and just so, so much more.

“Taeyong hyung! Let’s go to Han River!” Chenle walks up to Taeyong and grabs his hand.

“Okay, okay. Do we need to ride a bus to get there?”

“Don’t look at me, I’ve never been here before.” Dejun puts his hands up.

“Anyone?” Everyone looks away.

“Oh my god, why didn’t we think this through?” Taeyong grabs at his hair.

“We’re kids. We’re supposed to be reckless.” Lucas shrugs.

“Not helping, Lucas - ah.” Taeil scolds the younger.

“Hello, you kids seem to be lost. Am I right?” Taeyong looks to where the voice came from. It was a man, probably in his mid-thirties, fair skin, quite tall, nice voice. Taeyong couldn’t help but nod. “Where are you going, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Han river!” Chenle yells enthusiastically.

“Ah, take the next bus going to Yeouinaru Station and hop off there. It’s only a five-minute walk from there.”

“Thank you so much, sir. We appreciate it a lot!” Taeyong bows, the other follow suit.

“Ah! It’s Han river!” Now it was Renjun’s turn to yell excitedly. “We’re really here! I used to only see this in pictures!”

“Well, we’re here now.” Hendery smiles to himself.

“It’s so pretty.” Chenle looks on with contentment.

“I’m just glad you guys are somewhat enjoying this despite being miles away from home.” Johnny mutters.

“What do you mean?” Kun caught on to what Johnny said. “We are home.”

“Oh, right. Of course, we are. Home.” Johnny looks at the others fondly.

“Do you think we’ll be able to find a part time job here? Maybe that pays more? Since you know, nothing’s cheap here in Seoul like back in Busan.” Ten interrupts.

“We need to find a place to stay first. I don’t think there are any abandoned ports out here.” Taeyong jokes.

“Right. Any suggestions?” Mark asks to no one in particular.

“We can try to find an abandoned house?” Sicheng tries.

“Highly unlikely we’ll find one.” Kun quickly dismisses Sicheng’s suggestion.

“Do we go down on our knees again and beg?” Jungwoo adds.

“Here? In Seoul? People would think we’re scammers!” Taeyong nods his head no.

“You guys talk too much.” Taeil breaks the conversation. “Doyoung – ah, how much do we have left?”

“Uh, about two hundred thousand left? Why?”

“Let’s go find the nearest inn, then.” Taeil instructs. Taeyong mentally slaps himself for not thinking about that.

Once they were all situated in a room by either groups of five and six, the eldest four think of their next step. Surely, a source of income is their top priority.

“How about carrying boxes again? I heard a lot of college students do that!”

“But that’s the thing, Taeyong – ah, we’re not college kids. We don’t even exist anymore.”

“Oh, right.”

“Let’s just steal some shit. Lots of people do that all the time.” Yuta suggests.

“You’re kidding, right? That’s just wasting all our efforts the past month away!” Taeil scolds.

“Then what else are supposed to do, huh?” Yuta starts. “We’ve asked around today if there’s anyone willing to hire high school undergrads, and all of them turned us down, some even chased us away!” Taeyong looks away when Yuta made eye contact with him. “We’re left with no choice! And besides, how long are we going to keep living like this? Didn’t we run away to find those assholes who ruined our lives so we can all go back to normal? I just want to go back home to Osaka!”

“Hey, calm down, okay? We all want to go home, too! Yelling isn’t going to help!” Johnny tries to reason with Yuta.

“Sorry. I’m just tired.” Yuta finally sits back down.

“But I’m serious on the stealing part, though. We’re all going to end up in jail anyway. Why not make the most out of it?”

“You need to go to bed, Yuta.” Taeil warns.

“No, hyung. I think Yuta’s right.” Taeyong interjects.

“Yah, have you lost it?” Now it was Johnny who was yelling.

“By doing all sorts of crazy things, we’re bringing attention to us, right? This will lure them into us. I told you guys these before we ran away, remember?”

“Okay, I didn’t think we’d actually be doing that.”

“Thank you, Yuta, for bringing it up. I almost forgot about it. That’s the perfect plan.”

Both Johnny and Taeil look at each other dumbfounded.

“And if we get caught before we’ve lured them in?” Johnny asks after a while of silence.

“We won’t. We’ll make sure we won’t.” Taeyong states as he looks at the older two. “Guys, guys, be positive about this, alright? Let me introduce you to some new things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed reading it!
> 
> The next chapters probably won't be as long as this one. I just wanted to put the prologue into one chapter. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you stick around for more :D
> 
> edit: 10/05/20  
> I JUST REALIZED THE FIRST WORD IN THIS STORY IS VOLCANO AND NOW WE HAVE A SONG CALLED VOLCANO  
> I THINK I JUST MANIFESTED AN NCT U SONG


	2. Simon Says

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don’t be scared, you’re the only one stopping you.  
> Don’t be fooled, today, we break the rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it took a while to update! Work happened so there's a lot of things to juggle. Anyway, remember when I said the prologue would probably be longest chapter for this fic? Well I lied and this chapter might be the longest. Who knew the 4 bullet points in my outline would turn to 40 pages? Anyway, please read the tags below as caution. 
> 
> P.S. NCT 2020!!!!!!! WHO'S READY? I'M JUST HAPPY SEEING KUNYONG, JOHNTEN, JAEWIN, AND HYUCKYANG INTERACTING lkfdjgdsklfjgklf and also Shotaro is so cute????? And Sungchan even barked during the live so I'm sure he'll fit right into nct!!  
> I CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE CONTENT TO DROP!!! 
> 
> P.P.S. I'm thinking of adding Sungchan and Shotaro to future chapters so let's see where this leads. 
> 
> Right, onto the tags! 
> 
> tw // Theft, Guns, Drugs, Mentions of Underage Prostitution, Mentions of Child Trafficking, Mental Disorder, Underage Exploitation, Underage Violence, Children using guns, Euthanasia, Plane Crash

**SEOUL, 7:01 AM KST**

It’s been two months since they came to Seoul. Two months of going door to door to see if anyone’s willing to hire high school dropouts. Two months of waiting at the back doors of restaurants begging for leftovers. Two months of futile attempts of pickpocketing and stick ups with a box cutter. Two months of the younger ones looking forlornly at kids playing in the park wishing they could too.

They’ve done it all. Taeyong can say they’ve done it all. As long as they get money in return, whether it’s selling their body, or running an errand for someone, they’ve done it all. He keeps telling himself that’s it’s all part of his plan to lure them in. That it’s going to work and they’ll all be able to laugh about this in ten years’ time. He keeps repeating it to himself, so much so that it’s become a mantra for everyone. But of course, not everyone buys it. Mark has expressed multiple times that what they’re doing is wrong, and that they should just drop it and go back. Taeyong counters him, tells him to be more patient. That it’s going to be worth it.

But miraculously, in that two months, they have managed to find a rundown rooftop apartment of a four-story building near the outskirts of Silim – dong. The place wasn’t exactly the most idealistic, especially for kids, but it’ll do for now. It had a tiny kitchen, an even tinier bathroom, and vinyl flooring. Sure, it was cold at night, but there was enough floor space for everyone.

Kun wakes up early in the morning to make breakfast for everyone, evidently taking on the role of the chef. Haechan jokes that it’s like having two moms and two dads; Taeyong and Doyoung as the mom, and Johnny and Kun as the dad. Taeil and Yuta are the uncles who occasionally looks after the younger ones.

“Today, I think we can do a little grocery shopping? Me and Yuta made enough yesterday. I think it’ll last us for at least two days.” Johnny informs as they were eating breakfast.

“Can we get some cereal as well?” Yangyang adds.

“We’ll see if we can.” Johnny looks at the younger. “But first we need to get some necessities. We’re all out of soap and laundry detergent.”

“Don’t forget soybean paste and noodles.” Doyoung reminds as well.

“Ah, those two as well!”

“Then, while you’re busy playing dad, Ten and I are going to continue that art job near the post office.”

“Don’t call it an art job, that’s just vandalism.” Hendery scolds.

“Got any better past times, then?” Yuta taunts.

“At least that’s better than stealing lunch money from grade schoolers.” Lucas comments. “I’m feeling guilty already.”

“What? Don’t! That’s like our biggest income!” Jeno reasons.

“Why don’t you do it today, then?”

“Ah, I can’t. I have to go with Chenle and Jisung at the park today. I heard the mayor’s having an event there today. There’ll be lots of people.”

“Has Jisung gotten better at it?” Jaemin asks suddenly.

“He’s getting the hang of it!” Sicheng proudly announces and then pats Jisung on the head.

“I try to cry sometimes. That always works.” Jisung supplies.

“Good job, Jwisungie!” Jaemin coos at the youngest.

“What about you? What are you doing today?” Doyoung looks at Taeyong.

“I’m probably just going to walk around, pick pockets if I can.” Taeyong responds.

“Okay, as always, let’s do our best everyone!” Taeil raises his glass and toasts with everyone.

Later that evening, Taeyong and Ten were walking around the neighborhood looking for someone easy to stick up. It was just their usual routine, start within the neighborhood then go deeper into the busy streets. After their third stick up for the night, they wind up at a corner store to rest for a while. There, Ten spots a very familiar figure.

“Hyung, isn’t that the same guy who helped us at the bus station a while back?”

Taeyong looks to the general direction Ten was looking at and spots the figure as well. “Oh, yeah, that is him!” Taeyong turns around and faces Ten. “Should we talk to him?”

“Hm, I don’t think that’s a good idea. He might tip us to the police if he sees us.”

“Good point.” Taeyong agrees.

“Oh, shit he’s walking this way!” Ten and Taeyong looks down, trying to avoid being seen by the man.

“It’s no use,” A voice broke. “I already saw you two.” Both Taeyong and Ten looked up at man. “Hi, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Uh, yes. It has been.” Taeyong bows, Ten follows suit.

“What brings you both out here in Silim – dong?”

“We live around here.” Taeyong supplies.

“Oh, just you two?”

“No, we live with…“ Ten starts but was interrupted when Taeyong kicked his foot from under the table. “We live with our parents.”

“Ah, I see!” The man smiles. “For a second there I thought you two were runaways.”

“Us? Runaways? Ha!”

“How’s your friend doing? You know, the one that wanted to see Han river so badly?”

“Ah, him?” Taeyong wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. “He’s doing okay, I guess? He’s back in Shanghai now.”

“Really? Because I think I saw him earlier today.”

“What? No, no, no. He probably just looks like him!” Ten reasons. Taeyong laughs to hide his nervousness.

“Okay, okay.” The man nods. “You see, ever since I saw you guys at the bus station two months ago, I just couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“Excuse me?” Taeyong was flabbergasted.

“So much so that I followed you home after that and asked a few of my men to keep watch on you guys from time to time. That’s how I found out that you guys live around here.”

“Uh, mister, isn’t that a bit creepy?” Ten interjects.

“Ah, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not that kind of person.” He tries to defend himself. “I’m actually a businessman, and I would really like to hire you guys.”

“What kind of business?” Taeyong asks before Ten could even reply.

“A variety of jobs. My business doesn’t just cater to one field.”

“May we ask what that is?” Ten was curious as to what this man’s business is.

“What about instead of telling you, I show you?”

“Where are you taking us?”

“My office.” The man starts. “In Gangnam.” The two then swallows down a saliva.

It was the first time in Taeyong and Ten lives that they ride a limousine. It was also their first time in Gangnam as well. Everything was new; blinding lights, tall skyscrapers, the smell of money so pungent in the air, it was a whole new experience for some kids who grew up in Busan.

“Ah, how rude of me. I’m Junmyeon. Nice to meet you both.”

“I’m Taeyong.”

“I’m Ten.”

“Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.” Junmyeon smiles.

“Are you like a rich CEO or something?”

“Oh, I’m not just a CEO, I own a company, and so much more than that.” Taeyong was a bit confused as to what the last part of Junmyeon’s statement meant, but he brushes it aside.

When they reach the building to Junmyeon’s office, the younger two couldn’t help but gawk at it. It was at least fifty stories high, tall glass windows, and a giant LED screen at the front.

“This is your office?” Ten couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

“Pretty much. Shall we?” He turns back to look at Taeyong and Ten, both of them nodding in anticipation. They ride the elevator all the way up to the fiftieth floor. When the elevator doors finally open, they were greeted by Junmyeon’s men, all dressed in black suits with a Glock 19 tucked at the back of their trousers. Junmyeon saw how Taeyong and Ten were intimidated, but he brushes it off, saying there’s no reason to be unless you provoke them. When they reach the end of the hallway, two twelve feet coffee brown mahogany doors welcome them. Junmyeon pushes the door open, and the night skyline of Seoul can be seen through the floor to ceiling windows.

“Please, have a seat.” He offers to the two.

“Junmyeon – ssi, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of job do you do?” Taeyong asks as he sits down, Ten not too far away from him.

“I was wondering when you’d ask that.” Junmyeon smiles as he sits down on his office chair – brown leather with gold thread embroidery on the sides. “Taeyong – ah, Ten – ah, have you ever heard of a mafia?”

“Ma – mafia?” Ten stutters. “Like the game?”

“You’re joking, right?” Junmyeon laughs. “No,” He calms down a bit. “Not that mafia.” Ten looks down in embarrassment.

You mean like the Godfathers kind of mafia?” Taeyong tries.

“Exactly! That kind of mafia!”

“Wait, that means you’re a bad guy!” Ten stumbles as he stands up.

“I’m only a bad guy to those who deserve it. I’m nice to the both of you right now, aren’t I?”

“Well…” Ten scratches his head.

“Let’s cut the chase, shall we? The reason I brought you here is because I want to hire you, all twenty-one of you. In return for your service, I’ll let you stay at one my apartments here in Cheongdam – dong.”

“Hire us? How? We’re kids, what can we do?”

“Just continue to do what you’ve been doing so far while you’re in training - the petty crimes. And then, when I deem you ready, _I’ll introduce you to some new things._ ”

“And what exactly are those new things?” Taeyong interjects.

“Hm,” Junmyeon thinks for a second. “Organized crimes? More serious stuff. Only then, you’ll have to give a cut of what you earn.”

“So, in short, we’re going to be earning money for you?”

“It’s not just mine, it’s ours. And it’s going to be a lot bigger than just stealing lunch money from kids, don’t you think?”

“That seems kinda promising, Junmyeon – ssi. But we have to talk it out among ourselves. This is a very serious decision. And we’re not just talking about us older kids, you want to hire the Dreamies, too.”

“Dreamies?” Junmyeon cocks his head to the side at the mention of the name. (Dreamies include Lucas, Mark, Dejun, Hendery, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, Chenle, and Jisung)

“Ah, it’s just a nickname we gave to the younger ones.”

“That’s cute.” He smiles. “Anyway, give me a reply by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have my men drive you back. Ah, one last thing! Here, take this.” Junmyeon hands Taeyong an iPhone. “I’ll call you at exactly twelve noon tomorrow, don’t miss it.”

“You’re giving me this phone? Isn’t this the latest model?” Taeyong gawks at the phone on the table.

“Yeah, it’s yours for now. Do whatever you want with it. But, if you refuse, you’ll have to give it back.”

“Really? Thank you! We’ll take good care of it!” Taeyong grabs the phone and bows respectfully to Junmyeon, Ten follows suit.

“Then, I’ll talk to you tomorrow at noon. I’m looking forward to your answer.” Junmyeon smiles.

“Thank you. We’ll be taking our leave now.” Ten and Taeyong bow one last time before exiting the office. Once they were out, they were greeted by two of Junmyeon’s men who says that they’ll be the ones to drive them back to their apartment. They both oblige, and follows them back to the parking garage and into a black SUV. On the drive back, both Taeyong and Ten couldn’t stop gushing over the phone. It’s only been three and half months since their lives have turned upside down, and yet it felt like it’s been years since they last held a hand phone.

“And where the hell have you two been? We’ve been looking for the both of you for hours! Jisung and Chenle won’t stop crying because they thought you two died!” Taeil scolds them as soon as they step foot into the entry way.

“We’re sorry, hyung. We didn’t mean to make you worry.” Taeyong apologizes while Ten pouts beside him, his head hung low.

“Well? Are you going to explain yourselves? You know how hard we tried to get them to calm down? Lucas and Jungwoo literally had to put on a circus show just to get them to stop crying!”

“We’re sorry, hyung. It’s just that,” Taeyong starts. “Do you remember that guy who helped us at the bus station?”

“That guy? No? Why?”

“We met him and he wants to take us all in.”

“Take us all in? For what?”

“Apparently he’s the head of a mafia.” Ten deadpans.

“Mafia? Are you sure he’s not just luring us into child trafficking?”

“I doubt so. Here,” Taeyong takes out the phone. “He gave us this. He said he’ll call us tomorrow at noon after we’ve made our decisions.”

“That sounds so shady, Lee Taeyong. I can’t believe you fell for that. Mafia? Pfft, he probably wants to kidnap us and sell us to the highest bidder. Throw that phone away!”

“But we at least have to try!” Taeyong reasons.

“Are you hearing yourself? Are you really going to endanger the younger kids thanks to your naivety? Can you really bear to see Jisung hurt?”

“No.” Taeyong looks down.

“I swear to God, Taeyong – ah, sometimes, I’ve had enough of your bullshit. Get some rest, both of you.” Taeil dismisses the conversation and walks away.

“What are we going to do? Johnny hyung and Yuta hyung might not agree, too.” Ten whispers as soon as Taeil was out of earshot.

“Leave them to me. You convince Doyoung and Kun, alright?”

“I’ll try my best, hyung.”

Both Taeyong and Ten make their way further inside the apartment, careful not to wake up anyone. They both wash up and prepare for bed. There, Taeyong spots Chenle and Jisung sharing a futon together. He crouches down and places a soft kiss on their heads.

_I promise I’m never going to make you both cry. I’m going to give the world to you both one day._

The next morning, Taeyong drags a sleepy Johnny and Yuta outside onto the rooftop.

“There better be a good reason you’re waking me up at six am, Yong – ah.” Johnny mumbles.

“Hasn’t Taeil told you about it, yet?”

“Taeil hyung? Ah, that mafia leader thing? I mean, he’s kinda right, though. What if it’s a trap?” Johnny reasons.

“I get where Taeil hyung is coming from. He’s just looking out for everyone. You can’t blame him.” Yuta adds.

“But what if he’s not? This could be a big opportunity for us.”

“It’s always the what ifs that’s going to kill us one day.” Yuta comments.

“Can’t you trust me on this? Please?”

“I don’t know, he seems sketchy to me.”

“I agree with Yuta on this one. If you want, you can go on ahead.”

“What? You’re letting me do it alone?”

“It’s risky, Yong – ah, who knows what he’ll make us do, or worse, what he’ll do to us. Just because he gave you an iPhone doesn’t mean you have to trust him.”

“But, but!”

“Sorry, Taeyong – ah.” Yuta places a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder.

“Fine! I’ll prove it to you all that it’s not a scam!”

“Lee Taeyong!” Johnny scolds. “And what if something happens to you?”

“Tell the Dreamies I love them.” Taeyong barks as he walks away from the two.

“What’s his problem?” Yuta looks at Johnny. Johnny just shrugs.

When Taeyong walks back inside, he sees that the Dreamies were all huddled around Renjun with the phone in his hand. They seemed to be playing a game on the phone.

“Oh, oh, oh, no!” Renjun cries. “I almost had it!” Renjun then passes the phone to Lucas.

“What are you guys doing?” Taeyong crouches down next to Yangyang.

“We’re playing Temple Run!” Yangyang informs him, his eyes still glued to the screen.

“Is that a game?”

“Yeah, you basically just run and avoid any obstacles!” Jaemin adds.

“Oh, well I’ll leave you guys to it.” He smiles as he stands up.

“Hyung,” Jisung grabs his arm before he can walk away. “Are you okay? You didn’t get to eat last night.”

“Ah,” He smiles at the younger and crouches down again. “I’m fine, Jisung – ah. I ate dinner last night so don’t you worry, okay?”

Taeyong was expecting for Jisung to nod and go back to watching the others play, but what he didn’t expect was for Jisung to hug him tight and start crying then and there.

“Don’t cry, Jisungie, I’m here now, aren’t I? It’s okay now. I won’t make you worry again, okay?”

“I know, I just thought I lost you last night. You’re the only one I have left. If I lost you, I don’t know what would happen to me.” Jisung then wipes his tears with the back of his hand.

Without Taeyong noticing, tears have started to streak down his cheeks as well. “Ah, I’m sorry,” Was all that he could manage.

“But I’ll be okay now, hyung! Don’t you worry about it!” the youngest smiles and heads back to his spot next to Lucas. Taeyong couldn’t help but smile to himself. Now he’s even more motivated to make sure they get out of this shithole.

After breakfast, he gathers all of the older ones again. This time, he’s not going to take no for answer.

“I thought I made it clear that we weren’t going to accept that offer?” Taeil snaps.

“Just please hear me out, hyung.” Taeyong starts. “Let me and Ten scout it out first, see if it really is true. That’ll be my proposition with him. And if it seems legit, I’ll call you guys so you can come. But if it’s a scam and he’s really going to ship us to some unknown island God knows where, then Ten and I’ll just escape.”

“And what happens if you don’t escape?”

“Hyung, have I ever let you down?” Taeyong quirks an eyebrow.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Lee Taeyong.”

“I’m not, hyung. Please just trust me on this, okay?”

Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Kun, and Taeil all look at each other, unsure of the situation.

“I don’t know, hyung. It’s risky.” Kun reasons.

“That’s why me and Taeyong hyung will scout it first, just to test the waters.”

“Fine, fine, fine! Since you’re both so persistent! But if something happens to you both, I’m going to make sure Chenle and Jisung’s crying faces will be the last thing you’ll both see!” Taeil warns.

“Thank you, hyung!” Both Taeyong and Ten proceed to tackle Taeil in a hug.

“I’m serious, both of you! You better watch out for yourself!”

Taeyong, Ten, and Taeil are all huddled on the floor with the phone on Taeyong’s hand. They are now waiting for the phone call. Johnny, Yuta, Kun, and Doyoung aren’t far behind, wanting to hear how the conversation will go as well. Finally, the clock struck twelve, and within seconds, the phone starts ringing. Taeyong stumbles with the phone a bit, but answers the phone nonetheless.

“Hello?”

_“Taeyong, right?”_

“Yes, this is me. Is this Junmyeon – ssi?”

_“Yes, this is me. Have you made up your mind?”_

“Yes!” He answers right away. “Although I do have a proposition.”

_“A proposition, huh?”_

“We’ll agree to your terms, but first, let me and Ten go first to see things for ourselves. And when we deem it safe, we’ll bring everyone in.”

_“That doesn’t seem so bad. I like the way you think, Taeyong – ah. Okay, consider it done. When can we meet?”_

“You can pick me and Ten up within the afternoon.”

_“Okay, I’ll have my men pick you up in an hour. Be ready. Oh, and don’t bring anything except for the phone you’re using.”_

“Understood. See you then.”

_“Alright, see you then.”_

Taeyong hangs up and stays silent for a while. Then, he looks up at Taeil.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Don’t get cocky. You just got lucky he’s not in a bad mood.” Taeil informs. “But anyway, come eat lunch first before you both leave. You never know, this might be your last meal.”

“Hyung!” Both Taeyong and Ten yell in unison.

“Jungwoo – ah, Markie – ah, go and set the table!”

“Okay!” They hear Mark reply from across the room. Within seconds, they can all hear the clink and clang of tableware and silverware being set up and the scent of Jaehyun’s spicy pork barbecue. Soon enough, Dejun was calling them already to eat.

“Thank you all for the meal!” They all start eating lunch, side dishes being passed from one end of the table to the other, the sound of metal chopsticks hitting ceramic bowls, satisfied hums and _‘it’s delicious Jaehyun – ah_ ’ fill the room. If this really was Taeyong and Ten’s last meal together with the rest, then so be it. It was perfect in itself anyway.

One pm rolls around and a black SUV pulls up just in front of their apartment building. Taeyong and Ten bid their farewell to the others. The younger ones, or the Dreamies, are all on the verge of crying. Kun comes to the rescue and comforts them, tells them that it’s not for long and that they’ll see Taeyong and Ten again soon. They take one last look at everyone and smile, then exit the apartment without looking back once more.

Outside, they were greeted by two of Junmyeon’s men. Before they get to enter the SUV, the two men searched them first for any weapon. When they turned up empty, the two men motioned for Taeyong and Ten to enter the SUV. This is it, they both thought. We either live or die, it’s all up to Junmyeon now.

The ride to the office was quiet, eerily quiet. The two teens are afraid of making any sound that would upset the two men clad in back sitting at the front. But on their minds, thoughts were running around at a hundred and five miles per hour. The worst thought of it all was these two weren’t Junmyeon’s men at all, and that they’re from a rival mafia sought to kill them both before they reach their destination. 

They try to throw out any negative thoughts they may have, and only keep the positive ones, like finally not living like a sewer rat in one of the poorest parts of Seoul, or eating three meals a day, or getting to wear brand new clothes, stuff like that. It was the bare minimum, Taeyong thought, but God, did they dream about those things all the time. Had it not been for that traumatic experience a couple of months ago, he would be eating lunch at the cafeteria right now laughing at some dumb joke Yuta made and Johnny hitting his back a little too hard. Taeil would have taken up the CSAT, Jaehyun and Sicheng would be MVP’s by now, Kun, Ten, and Doyoung would be busy preparing for the school festival, everyone would continue to live normal lives that they deserve and not this. Definitely not this.

Fortunately, the two men driving them turned out to be Junmyeon’s men all along and are now pulling up to the office. They were escorted inside up to the front door of Junmyeon’s office. There, the two men motioned them to go inside.

“Ah, you both came!” Junmyeon greets by his table.

“Like we promised!” Ten states as a matter of fact.

“Right, now that we’re all on the same page, shall we?” Taeyong and Ten both nod in agreement. “Let’s head downstairs to see where all the fun stuff happens.” Junmyeon smiles as he ushers the younger two out of his office. They pile out of the office and walk to the other end of the hallway. There, they enter through a door with a sign that says ‘do not enter’ which is totally not conspicuous at all. The room was pitch black except for a touch screen elevator button on the opposite end. Junmyeon presses the button for down, a within a few seconds, the elevator door opens and they all pile in. So, there’s a second elevator, huh? Taeyong takes note of this just in case. The ride down was quiet, just Taeyong and Ten exchanging glances every few seconds, completely unsure of the whole situation. When the doors do open, the screen inside says they’re at the twenty second floor. Or were they really?

The room was crisp white, like, the type of room you’d see in movies. White walls, white ceiling, white flooring, even the furniture is white. In the middle of the room, a table was laid out with various weaponry on it, the black color a stark contrast to the room.

“Welcome to my playground.” Junmyeon casually mentions. “Please excuse the white, my friend designed the place.” He chuckles. “Now, first off, I want to see how you both hold a gun.”

“A g – gu – gun?” Taeyong stutters.

“A gun! Yes. It’s vital for any person to know how to hold and shoot a gun. So, how about it?” Junmyeon dangles the gun by the loop with his index finger, waiting for either of the two take it from him.

“I’ll try?” Taeyong was the first to take on the challenge. He reaches for it carefully, trying not to shoot a gun accidentally. To think that a couple of months ago he was at the receiving end of a gun and now he’s on the opposite side. Once he grabs it, he holds it in his palm and positions his index finger at the trigger and his thumb hovering over the safety grip. Once his hand has gotten used to the feeling of the gun on his palm, he aims for a spot away from Ten and Junmyeon and pretends to shoot.

“Impressive!” Junmyeon encourages the younger. “Although, you need a bit more training. But that’s understandable, not everyone is good with a gun.”

“I’ll practice more to be better at it.”

“Ah, but a gun isn’t all that.” Junmyeon starts as he walks towards the other weapons hanged on the wall. “You should also be open to other weapons. And If you’re really good at it, even a sewing needle can be your deadliest weapon.”

“I see.” Taeyong nods in acknowledgement. “But, there’s another alternative, right? One that doesn’t involve me accidentally killing my teammates because I’m really not confident in holding a gun.” Taeyong reasons, sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Hm,” the older thinks for a while. “Do you know Taekwondo?”

“Ah! Yes!” Taeyong’s face immediately lights up. “Although I was only a purple belter. I stopped going to class when I turned ten.”

“Well, it’s never too late to continue, now is it?” He smiles. “Now, you?” Junmyeon then turns to Ten.

“I have clammy hands so I don’t think a physical weapon will do. Maybe I can do unarmed fighting as well? But I’m really good at memorizing stuff so I hope I could be of use to you.”

“Do you have a photographic memory?”

“Yes.” Ten answers curtly.

“Much better!” Junmyeon smiles. “You’ll be crucial to future dealings and missions.”

“Thank you, Junmyeon – ssi.” Ten smiles, proud of himself.

“But wait, why are you making us all do these things?” Taeyong interjects.

“To be in a mafia, you need to learn how to fight. And you need to learn how to fight good. But like I said, fighting doesn’t always have to involve a gun, that’s why I’m letting you choose your own choice of weapon. Besides, when all else fails, isn’t your body a weapon too?”

“Right, right.” Taeyong nods. “So, when do we start training?”

“Soon. Before we jump into it, I want to show you one more thing.” Junmyeon heads back to the elevator, the younger two following suit. They reach the sixth floor and were greeted with the scent of freshly printed money and coffee. They step out of the elevator and walk deeper into the floor.

“As you can see, this is our production floor. Here, we print money and hand them to the central bank. And since we’re the official printer, this money,” Junmyeon grabs a stack and shows it to the two. “are real and are ready to be spent anywhere within South Korea.”

“So, we can just grab these and go?” Ten jokes.

“Unless you can get past that metal door, sure go ahead.” Junmyeon points to a ten feet metal steel door on the other side of the room. Ten mouths an ‘O’ and puts the money back on the container. “Don’t get ahead of yourselves, this money is all accounted for. Meaning, even if just one won is missing, the central bank will barge in here and demand for that one won. The government will be involved and it’ll be a mess. However, we do get a share, it’s just not physical money.” He looks at the younger two.

“So, they just wire the money to you, then?”

“Correct! So, whatever you do, don’t steal the people’s money. It’s one thing to steal from corrupt government officials, but I will draw the line at my men stealing from the people.”

“That’s understandable. Note taken.” Ten nods in agreement.

“So, what do you do exactly, then, Junmyeon – ssi?”

“Well like I said, I’m the head of mafia group, and I do all sorts of illegal things, some for my own sake, and some for the greater good of the country. Although, I do have a cover up company, which is this; currency printing. I send them to the central bank and they pay me for the service they rendered.”

“Are you rich?”

“Ten! That’s rude!” Taeyong scolds the younger.

“What?”

Junmyeon laughs at the younger two, their silly antics putting him a good mood. “Yes, I’m rich. My earnings from the printing and the earnings I get for beheading greedy pigs and stealing biochemical weapons is enough to feed the entirety of Gangnam for a year.”

“That’s a lot of money…” Ten comments.

“I need a lot of money.” Junmyeon laughs. “I have mouths to feed and pockets to fill. These bank notes don’t print themselves and most definitely those pigs don’t just drop dead on the floor.”

“Point taken.”

“You know, to be a good leader, you need to be considerate to everyone around you. Hear their story, let them explain. You have to earn their trust! That way, they’ll trust you back wholeheartedly. And whatever happens, don’t break their trust. Your people are the ones doing the work so encourage them, reward them, befriend them too if you want. Treat them the same way you want to treated.”

“That’s actually very helpful, though I don’t think I’ll need that for now.” Taeyong interjects.

“Hey, just a piece of advice, you know? Aren’t you also the head of your own family?”

“Well, sorta? There’s someone who’s older than me but he strays away from making decisions.”

“He’s just being smart.” Junmyeon comments as he suppresses a smile. “Say, Taeyong, Ten, how about we visit that place you’ll be staying at?” The two teens nod enthusiastically.

The three of them head for the elevator again, and ride up to the tenth floor. They exit the elevator and go through the door. Ten spots that the door had another ‘do not enter’ sign again. Once they exit through the door, Taeyong and Ten saw the rows and rows of cubicles with what they assume are regular office workers working for the cover up company.

“Are they part of your mafia, too?” Taeyong’s curiosity getting the best of him.

“No, these are just employees for the printing company.” Junmyeon states, eyes still fixed in front. They reach the other elevator and enter and Junmyeon presses for the first floor. Once on the ground, they exit the building and into a waiting black SUV.

“So, that building, is that also your hideout?”

“I wouldn’t call it a hideout since it’s visible in plain sight. I’d call it more of an office where business deals happen. It’s also the production plant so it can’t be a hideout since police will come from time to time to inspect the place.”

“Then explain your playground, if the police go there, wouldn’t your cover be blown?”

“Ah, that floor is uncharted, meaning it doesn’t exist in the building’s blueprint. Also, the secret elevator you guys rode on, only me and a handful of my men have access to that elevator since it leads to the playground and the production floor. Although the production floor can also be reached with the other elevator, but it’s not the part where I took you both.”

“So, it’s like a secret base within a building like an HQ! That’s so cool!” Ten exclaims.

“I guess if you put it that way.” Junmyeon chuckles. “Ah, we’re almost there.” The two teens look at each other excitedly. The three went silent after that, the younger two enjoying the tall skylines and busy streets as they look out the window. When they reach a more suburban scenery, they both knew they were close.

The car slows down to a stop, and Jumyeon motions for the two to hop off the car. In front of them is a twenty-three-story apartment building.

“Wait, we’re here already? Where is this place?” Ten almost shrieked in excitement.

“Samsung Hill State. It’s only a five-minute drive from the office. This will be your new home from now on.”

“This is ours now?”

“Technically, no. It’s mine. But I’m letting you guys live here for free as long as you comply with our agreement.”

“Thank you so much!” Taeyong and Ten bow to Junmyeon.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Shall we go upstairs?”

The three enter a building and into an elevator and ride up to the twenty third floor. On the far left of the hallway, Junmyeon takes out a pair of keys and unlocks the door. The younger two hurriedly walks inside and bask in the sight behold in front of them.

“It’s a little small, so it’s up to you guys how you’ll manage all your friends in here.”

“You call this small? This is twice as big as my house back in Busan!” Ten calls out as he inspects the glass doors leading to a balcony.

“This is more than enough for us. Thank you, Junmyeon – ssi.” Taeyong bows in gratitude.

“Oh,” Junmyeon raises an eyebrow. “How about from this day forward, you can call me _boss_?”

“Sure thing, boss!” Taeyong smiles.

Junmyeon smiles as well, pleased with the outcome so far. “So, how about you call your friends, then?”

“Oh, but our lease isn’t up yet in the apartment we’re renting. If we don’t finish it, we won’t be able to get our safety deposit back.”

“When does it end?” The smile on Junmyeon’s face falters for a second before plastering one again. Taeyong takes notice of this and tries his best to string his reply as smooth as possible.

“By the end of the month.”

“Well, we can’t waste time, can we? There are weapons to be stolen and bounties to be hunted and we can’t just lie around here while waiting for your lease to be up, now can we? Tell your friends to come here now.”

“Right away, boss.” Taeyong takes out the phone from his pocket. “Wait, none of them have hand phones.” He looks down on the phone again, avoiding Junmyeon’s gaze.

“Never mind,” Junmyeon dismisses. “I’ll have my men pick them up. Ten can go with them.”

“Me?” Ten turns around upon hearing his name.

“Come get your friends so they can get settled in already. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Understood.” Ten bows in agreement.

“Oh, and don’t worry about not getting your deposit back, I’ll have my men take care of it.”

“Thank you so much, boss.”

“Right, Ten, let’s head downstairs. Taeyong you stay here for the meantime. Make yourself at home.” Taeyong bows as well as Junmyeon and Ten leave the apartment. After a while, the place becomes too quiet, much to Taeyong’s dismay. He’s grown to love the noise from living with twenty other people. Irritated, he walks out to the balcony to get away from the deafening silence.

“Holy shit, I can see Namsan Tower from here.” Taeyong mutters. It was now around sunset, the purple, orange, and pink colors of the sky became a beautiful background to the historical structure atop the mountain. He stays there for a little while, just enjoying the city noises engulfing him. The apartment was high enough to get away from the hustle and bustle from down below but still be able to enjoy some nice city ASMR.

After an hour or two, he finally hears the door click open followed by the rowdy chatting and banters from his family.

“Taeyong – ah!” Yuta was the first to spot Taeyong at the balcony. “Is it real? We’re really living here now?”

“Yeah, it’s real.”

“Yong – ah, I’m sorry for doubting you.” Johnny appears behind Yuta, a shy smile playing on his face.

“It’s okay, I mean, it did seem kinda shady if we’re being honest.” The three of them then gave each other cheeky grins.

“So, what are we doing now?” Yuta adds.

“Not sure yet. I think he’s going to talk to us once we’re all settled down. How’d it go with Taeil hyung?”

“Well, he didn’t want to leave at first, but somehow Haechan managed to convinced him.” Johnny informs. “He’s a bit grumpy now, so it’s best if you don’t talk to him.”

“Right. Duly noted.” Taeyong sighs.

“Oh, by the way, Kun brought your stuff as well.”

“Thank you, Kun – ah!” Taeyong calls through the commotion in the living room. Kun then stands on his toes and gives Taeyong a thumbs up. “Are you sure you didn’t leave anything back at the apartment?”

“Nope!” Johnny pops the ‘p’. “Doyoung and Taeil hyung did three rounds just to make sure.” He informs.

“And the deposit?”

“Apparently, a box cutter is all it takes to get it back.” Yuta mutters while looking away from Taeyong.

“You threatened the landlady with a box cutter? Are you nuts? She’s sixty-eight! Sixty-eight!”

“What? You can’t blame us!” Johnny defends. “Junmyeon’s men were all telling us to hurry!”

“After everything she’s done for us, you guys had to do that?” Taeyong couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. “I can’t believe you both. Now we have to go back there sometime and beg for her forgiveness.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll come with you. I’ll tell her I was only threatened to do so.” Yuta tries.

“Me, too.” Johnny adds.

“This is a mess.” Taeyong facepalms himself.

“Taeyong hyung! Johnny hyung! Yuta hyung! Come inside! We’re picking roommates now!” Hendery calls them over from the living room, the rest huddled on the floor with a paper in the center.

“Ooo, how are we deciding roommates?” Johnny asks to no one in particular.

“Ghost Leg!” Jisung exclaims.

“Wait, how many are sharing a room, then?” Doyoung speaks up.

“There’s four room, so three rooms will have five and one room will have six.” Ten supplies.

“Fair enough.” Mark comments.

“Okay, everyone! Gather around! Pick a letter of your choice!” Haechan announces.

Everyone had chosen a number already, so now it’s time to decide which letter represents which room. Renjun draws another ghost leg and writes the letters a, b, c, d at the top, and the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 on the bottom; each number represents one of the four bedrooms.

“Jisung will do the honors of choosing the numbers.” Renjun announces.

“What? Me?” Jisung was surprised, pointing at himself as added effects.

“No! Not poop hands!” Jeno exclaims.

“Nonsense! This will be fun!” Renjun dismisses. “Alright, Jisung – ah, our rooms are now in your hands!”

Jisung gets down to it, and draws along the lines Renjun had already drawn. The result; a – 3, b – 1, c – 4, d – 2.

“Alright! Everyone who picked letter A?” Renjun questions the entire group. Yuta, Taeil, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, and Mark raises their hand.

“Oh my god, who let them be in one room together?”

“Don’t be rude, Doyoung – ah!” Ten scolds.

“Right, b? All those who picked B will room in the master bedroom by the way.” Taeyong, Doyoung, Johnny, Haechan, Jisung, and Ten raise their hand.

“Bye Jisungie, good luck.” Chenle teases the youngest. “Taeyong hyung and Haechan hyung? Yeah, good luck!”

“Not helping, Chenle – ah.” Jisung covers his face with his hand.

“Why? What’s so wrong with rooming with me?” Haechan sits up to defend himself.

“Nothing, hyung.” Jisung dismisses.

“C?” Renjun asks again. Kun, Chenle, Renjun, Sicheng, and Lucas raise their hands.

“Oh, hey! We all speak one language!” Lucas points out.

“You can’t even speak mandarin well.” Hendery taunts. Lucas just glares at him.

“Then the last room, Jaemin, Jeno, Dejun, Hendery, and Yangyang.” Renjun informs. “I can’t imagine how chaotic your room is going to be.”

“It’s going to be a party room!” Yangyang stands up and starts to dance.

“Not if our curfew is at ten pm!” Johnny shuts down Yangyang’s party.

“But hyung! We’re mafia members now! There’s no curfew in a mafia, because the city never sleeps and the grind never stops!”

“Yah, aren’t you twelve? Where’d you learn how to talk like that?” Johnny jokes with the younger.

“It’s called not being a boomer, hyung.”

“Hey!” Now it was Kun’s turn to scold Yangyang. The group erupts in a fit of laughter, enjoying the ambiance their little game had made.

Taeyong takes a look at everyone, they all had smiling faces. If other people would have a look at them, they would never have suspected that they all had escaped death just a couple months ago. The entire thought seems crazy, but he sometimes wonders how on earth did he end up with twenty other strangers as his family? He may miss his real family sometimes, but he wants to focus on what’s in front of him now. His newfound family, a family forged in trust and mutual understanding. A bond so strong it’s unbreakable.

“Now that’s settled with, let’s move in our stuff now? We still have so much to do.” Taeil orders the rest. The group replied a chorus of ‘yes’ or ‘do we have to’, ‘yes we do, Chenle - ah.’

Two hours and six boxes later all of their stuff have been unpacked and put in their places around the house. Don’t get them wrong, they don’t really have a lot of stuff, it was just mostly thrown out toys and crumpled comic books that the Dreamies have collected since their time at the container back in Busan. It held such sentimental value to the kids that the older ones just couldn’t bear to throw them out. Even if Taeil had insisted that he buys him brand new toys, the Dreamies just refuse to give it up.

“I just realized, there’s only two beds per bedroom, the other one will have to sleep on the floor.” Dejun points out.

“Then that means you’re sleeping on the floor then.” Jeno teases the older.

“Me? It should be Yangyang since he’s the youngest in the room!”

“I heard that!” Yangyang calls out from the kitchen.

“You kids are so quick to turn on each other. Can’t you just squeeze Yangyang in one of the beds?” Kun interrupts the two.

“That would actually work if he weren’t such a restless sleeper!” Dejun complains.

“Hm, then I guess he deserves to sleep on the floor all alone after all.” Kun agrees.

“Kun – ge!” Yangyang objects as he walks towards the three.

“Now, now, let’s all just settle down and wait for Junmyeon – ssi.” Taeyong announces, taking a seat at the couch.

“What do you think he’ll make us do?” Lucas spoke as everyone starts to gather at the living area.

“Hm, probably even more serious illegal stuff. Like mission impossible type of stuff.” Jungwoo jokes.

“Aren’t we a little too young to do those?”

“I don’t think age matters in this line of work. I mean, you have been sleeping with women thrice your age so, what’s your point?”

“Hey! No need to bring that up!” Taeil scolds. “At least not in front of the kids!”

“It’s okay Taeil hyung, we were prepared to do it anyway.” Haechan answered nonchalantly.

“Do what? What are you talking about?” Jisung interrupts.

“It’s nothing, Jisung – ah! It’s just adult stuff.” Lucas dismisses.

“Sorry.” Jungwoo apologizes, his head hung low.

“I don’t think he’s going to make anyone do that sort of stuff now since he did talk more about organized crimes and big scale missions, so that’s the least of your worries now.” Taeyong tries to brighten the mood up.

“Right, right! Look on the bright side! We don’t live in a moldy rooftop apartment, we get to eat three times a day now, and we’ll be making more than we could have imagined months ago!” Johnny adds.

“Not gonna lie, I’m gonna miss our rooftop apartment. Especially in the morning when the sun’s just about to rise.” Mark confesses, taking everyone by surprise.

“Or when we have dinner outside on the roof and the stars are out? Best feeling.” Dejun adds.

“I mean who’s to say we can’t do that here? We live on the highest floor, we have a balcony, we can still do all those things here.” Johnny reasons.

“Well,” Mark starts, scratching his neck. “Our old apartment felt like an actual home for some reason? Remember when we had to sleep in a junkyard while we work our ass off for the deposit? Unlike this one, it’s too clean, too crisp, and it was just handed to us like this house means nothing.”

“Why do you gotta be so negative about things? Just be happy you’re not sleeping with one eye open all the time!” Doyoung snaps, having enough of this conversation already.

“I’m not ungrateful about it! I just said I’ll miss our old apartment! We worked hard for it!”

“We’re going to work even harder for this house, then! I’m one hundred percent sure we won’t be doing half the things we did before since it’s going to be more serious this time around!”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Come on now, guys. Now’s not the time for us to be fighting. I know we’re all stressed about how fast things are changing, but please trust me that it’s going to be for the better, okay?” Taeyong reasons.

“Yes, hyung. I understand.”

“Okay, Junmyeon’s men will pick up us any minute now, so get ready, okay?” The group answers in acknowledgement as they scramble to get ready. Best to say it feels like the first day of school for them.

When Junmyeon’s men do arrive, they ordered them to pile into four black SUV’s to take them to the office. There, they ride the secret elevator all the way up to the twenty second floor.

“Welcome, welcome! My name is Kim Junmyeon and I’m the leader of this mafia.” Junmyeon welcomes the group, a smile plastered on his face. The kids all bowed to greet Junmyeon as well. “So, I think an introduction would be lovely right now. Please, tell me your names! Let’s start with the eldest? Who’s the eldest?” Junmyeon scans the kids in front of him, waiting for someone to raise their hand.

“I’m... I’m the eldest, I’m Moon Taeil. I’m eighteen.” Taeil raises his hand and introduces himself.

“I’m John Seo, but people call me Johnny. I’m seventeen.”

“Let me guess, you were born outside of Korea, correct?” Junmyeon raises an eyebrow to Johnny.

“Yes. I’m from Chicago.”

“Do you speak English?”

“It’s my first language!” Johnny boasts.

“And yet your Korean’s good as well. Impressive. Who’s next?”

I’m Nakamoto Yuta, also seventeen. I’m from Osaka.” Yuta raises his hand and flashes Junmyeon an ear to ear smile.

“Qian Kun, sixteen, Shanghai.” Kun raises his hand as well.

“Kim Doyoung, sixteen. I’m Korean as you can tell.”

“Care to be a little more friendly?” Junmyeon asks teasingly.

“I’m naturally incapable of doing so.” Doyoung barks back.

“Uh, please excuse Doyoung, he has a personality disorder that makes him unfriendly to new people.” Taeyong tries to reason with Junmyeon, secretly nudging Doyoung from the back as well to get him to stop.

“Why are you apologizing, hyung? He wanted this, right? He wanted to take us all in, right? He has to put up with all of it.”

“Doyoung – ah, at least be nice to him! He’s our boss now!”

“What makes you think I’m going to think of him as my boss? He’s exploiting children for his own selfish deed!”

“Doyoung, be quiet!” Now it was Taeil who scolds him, and Doyoung shuts up instantly.

“Doyoung has, uh, anti – social personality disorder. It takes him a while to warm up to people, but he’s very helpful once you get past that. He’s great with money and numbers so I’m sure he’ll be very helpful to the team!” Taeyong explains, trying his best.

“Hm, we need to work on that temper of his.” Junmyeon comments. “But I’ll let it slide for now since it’s only the first meeting. I expect him to be more cooperative in the future. I’ll leave that you, Taeyong – ah.”

“Thank you, boss. I’ll do just that.” Taeyong bows in acknowledgement.

“Now, who was next?”

“Me!” Jaehyun raises his hand. “I’m Jeong Jaehyun. I’m fifteen. I play basketball!”

“Oh, do I have a job just for you.” Junmyeon smiles at Jaehyun. “Next?”

“Dong Sicheng, fourteen, I play basketball with Jaehyun.”

Jungwoo looks around the group first, making sure nobody else was speaking up before he introduces himself. “Let me introduce myself. Everybody, _junbidoesseyo_ ready?" He pauses for some dramatic effects. "Hi! Hello! _Annyeong_! My name is Jungwoo Kim, I’m fourteen!” Jungwoo spoke in English and everyone in the room burst out laughing, even Junmyeon.

“That was impressive, Jungwoo – ssi!” Junmyeon claps for him.

“Thank you!”

“Ah, how am I going to top that?” Mark clears his throat. “My name’s Mark, and you can mark me in your heart!” There was dead silence after that.

“Yeeeaah!” Taeyong suddenly breaks.

“Wow, I can’t believe I said that! Anyway, I’m from Canada – “

“Ah, Canada.” Haechan facepalms himself.

“What?” The Dreamies all laugh at Mark’s cluelessness. “I’m from Canada, I’m thirteen!”

“Give him a rap, Mark!” Johnny encourages.

“Okay, okay! Party in the city where the heat is on! All night on the beach till the break of dawn! Welcome to Miami!”

Junmyeon couldn’t believe what’s unfolding in front of him. He can’t believe these are supposed to be delinquents.

“Yeahhh!” Lucas joins. “I’m Lucas Huang, I’m also thirteen, and I’m from Hong Kong!” Lucas then strikes three poses for Junmyeon before exclaiming; “Fighting _haeyadwae!_ ”

Yup, Junmyeon’s convinced these lot are not criminals.

“I’m Xiao Dejun, I’m the same age as those two, and uh, people call me a dinosaur because of my cheeks. Oh, and I’m also Chinese.”

“Thank you for that TMI, Dejun.” Junmyeon smiles, unable to hold in his laughter anymore.

“I’m Hendery Wong, thirteen, and I hate frogs.”

“Frogs are friends!” Yuta exclaims.

“Are you guys done?” Renjun teases as he looks at Hendery before continuing. “I’m Huang Renjun, I’m twelve.” Renjun does a tiny wave and hides behind Jeno after.

“I’m Lee Jeno, also twelve.” Jeno flashes his infamous eye smile.

“My name is H – a – e – c – h – a – n Lee,” Haechan introduces himself in English. “I’m also twelve!”

“I’m Na Jaemin, but you can call me – “

“Monster!” Haechan yells from his spot.

“Nana…” Jaemin glares back at Haechan.

“Nana?” Junmyeon raises an eyebrow.

“Like my last name; Nana.”

“Ah, I see, I see. Carry on.”

“I’m Liu Yangyang, and I can speak five languages.”

“Wow, that’s impressive! Even my higher ups struggle to speak two!” Junmyeon comments.

“Zhong Chenle, I’m ten turning eleven this year! I play the piano.”

“I’m Park Jisung.” Jisung introduces himself while hiding behind Lucas. “I’m ten.”

“Well, that’s everybody! Thank you for letting me know your names. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.” Junmyeon claps his hands once before moving closer to the group. “Before I let you all of you do some dirty work, you’ll each be going through some training. Think of yourself as a dull blade for now, as you go along, you’ll get sharper and sharper, up to such time that you’ll be able to cut through even the thickest of objects, alright?”

“Yes, boss.” Taeyong responds.

“In your training, we’ll be able to identify your strengths, weaknesses, your strong points, your not so strong points, and put you in a job that’s most suitable for you. Because no one wants to be a fish out of water, right? Over the next couple weeks, you’ll be meeting my caporegimes, in charge of different parts of the mafia. You’ll be under their wing for you to get used to the line of work they do. Are we clear?”

“Yes, boss!” Ten replies enthusiastically.

“Okay, then, shall we move on to our next location?” Junmyeon then motions for them to follow him through a door inside the room which leads to the room next door. It was different from the previous one. This time, the room was made of concrete walls and floors, high ceilings, dimly lit, and even more weapons hanged on the wall. There were firing targets hanged at one wall, and an observation room at one side of the room as well. “Right, now we’re going to do a placement test to see where you’re deemed fit.”

“Mister, do your other men go through this as well?” Yangyang interrupts.

“All of them do. You see, I’m the only one who can choose who joins the mafia and I’ll leave the training to my underboss. But today’s an exception since I want to see your talents first hand.”

“So, we’re special?”

“Extremely.” He smiles at them. “So, like earlier, I need to know who knows how to hold a gun and those who don’t.”

“What happens if we don’t know how to hold a gun?” Now it was Dejun who interrupted Junmyeon.

“I’ll put you on back end jobs.”

“What’s a back-end job?” Hendery asks suit.

“Those who work behind the scenes, the one who stays on the base and supports the people who are doing the mission first hand.”

“Ah, so like a Cisco Ramon kind of job?”

“Who’s he?” Junmyeon raises an eyebrow.

“He’s a character from a famous comic book. He’s a techy person who gives support to the hero.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of similar.” 

“We’re sorry if we’re asking so many questions, boss.” Taeyong apologizes.

“What for? Your kids. You’re bound to be curious.” He laughs. “First, everyone must wear an ear muff. These are noise cancelling ear muffs so your ears won’t get damaged.” Everyone takes one from the table and puts it on. “Now, let me see who knows how to hold a gun. Step right up if you feel confident enough to aim at the center.”

Johnny looks around the group and notices no one wants to volunteer so he steps up and heads for the table where the guns are laid out. He picks up a SIG Sauer P320 and weighs it in his palm, getting used to the weight and material of the gun. Once he feels confident enough, he aims for the center target and shoots. Unfortunately, he misses the center by a hairline. Devastated, he tries again, and misses again. He lowers the gun in disappointment and turns around to face Junmyeon. He was ready to apologize, but Junmyeon’s face stops him so.

“Are you sure this is your first time shooting a gun?”

“I mean, I’m sure arcade games don’t count, right?”

“Get your head out of your ass, this is the real deal.” Ten retorts.

The group erupts in laughter at Ten’s remark and Jungwoo takes this time to walk over to Johnny.

“May I, hyung?” Jungwoo asks for the gun from Johnny.

“Of course!” Johnny hands over the gun to Jungwoo and goes back to his place with the group.

Jungwoo does the same as Johnny; he inspects the gun and ghosts his fingers around the barrel before positioning his index finger at the trigger and his thumb at the safety pin. He aims at the center target and shoots. Junmyeon couldn’t believe what he saw next - Jungwoo perfectly shot at the center, a clean round hole can be seen.

“Impressive. Let me guess, your first time?” Junmyeon asks. Jungwoo nods his head in response. “Wow, arcade games these days are stepping it up if you can aim that good.” He comments.

“I’d like to try next!” It was Chenle. Everyone was surprised, even Junmyeon. “Uh, I’ve done it before with my dad back in Shanghai. I’m really good with a sniper rifle!”

“Alright, go ahead.” Junmyeon encourages the younger. Chenle walks up the table and picks up the Artic Warfare 50. Much to Junmyeonn’s amusement, the rifle itself is almost half the size of Chenle’s small body frame. He sets up the rifle’s bipod by the table and adjusts the sniper scope. He aims for the center and shoots, a perfect shot right in the center.

“For a ten-year-old, I’m very, very impressed and also slightly concerned. I never expected a literal child to hold a gun.”

“There’s a first time for everything, right, Mister?” Chenle taunts.

“I suppose so.”

Others soon followed, though it was Yuta, Mark, Lucas, Doyoung, Jaemin, and surprisingly, Jisung that caught Junmyeon’s attention the most. He says that the nine of them will continue to train with rifles and other firearm weapons and the rest can pursue other means of combat.

After their eventful first day of meeting Junmyeon, they all retreated back to their apartment to rest. It was all too much for them. Twenty-four hours ago, they were all just playing goldfish at their old apartment back in Silim – dong and now they’re living a life of a mafia member. What a turn around. 

In Hendery and Co.’s room, Yangyang is still refusing to settle down and sleep. “I still don’t understand how we are still following a schedule when we’re mafia members now!” Yangyang complains to his roommates.

“Sit your ass down, you’re literally only twelve!” Dejun barks back.

“And what does my age got to do with my job? No one’s too young to live the high life!”

“Don’t wait for me to call Johnny hyung!”

“What’s Johnny hyung gonna do? Bear hug me to death?”

“Do you wanna try?”

“Guys!” Jeno scolds. “Some of us are human and want to get a good night’s sleep!”

“That’s what I’m saying! You guys go ahead and sleep! I’m staying up! I’ve always wanted to stay up!”

“What’s so good with staying up, anyway?” Hendery uncovers himself from his blanket, annoyed with the noise in the room.

“Nothing!” Yangyang deadpans. “It just makes me feel like I’m free! No parents to tell me to go to bed!”

“Even if we don't scold you to go to bed, you still don’t have parents.” Dejun snaps.

“Hey!” Jaemin perks up. “That’s a little low, hyung!”

“What? It’s true! We don’t have parents anymore! All of us! You can have all the freedom you want and still go to bed early.” Dejun reasons.

“I know, but you don’t have to go there. Think about what others feel.” Jaemin replies.

“Whatever.” Dejun dismisses. “I’m going to bed. Yangyang, you better shut up or you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Don’t be an ass, Dejun. He’s just a kid.” Hendery snaps back. Dejun just rolls his eyes before retreating under his blanket.

“Meanie!” Yangyang sticks his tongue out. “I miss my parents a lot and you just reminded me! Ah, whatever! I’m sleeping with Kun – ge tonight!” Yangyang gets up from his futon and messily rolls into a ball before picking it up and leaving the room.

“You’re an asshole, Dejun.” Hendery comments as Yangyang slams the door shut.

“Kun – ge?” Yangyang whispers as he lightly knocks on the door.

“Yangyang? What is it?” Renjun appears behind Yangyang while holding a glass of milk. _They can drink milk now._

“Uh, I don’t want to seem like a bother…”

“What? Is something wrong?” Renjun steps closer, concern etched on his face.

“It’s just that, Dejun – ge got mad at me for being noisy and said some things so I left. Thing is, can I sleep here tonight? I even brought my futon so I won’t have to share a bed with anyone.”

“Ah, Dejun – ge and his temper sometimes.”

“I know, right? So, can I?”

“You’re already here, right? Come on in!” Renjun opens the door and motions for Yangyang to come in as well.

“Ah Yang? What’s wrong? Why are you here?” Kun immediately spots the futon in Yangyang’s hands.

“I’m crashing here tonight!” He says, his voice cracking in the middle. And in an instant, Kun knows what’s up.

“Miss your parents? Got into a fight with one of your roommates?”

“Yes, and yes.” Yangyang deadpans.

“Come here, sleep beside Chenle, I’ll sleep on the futon tonight.”

“Really? Can i?”

“Come on, Yangyang, just accept it and get some rest!” Sicheng encourages. “We have a long day tomorrow!”

“Okay, fine. Maybe the grind can stop tonight.” He jokes as he climbs on the bed beside Chenle.

“Yang – ge, please don’t hit me in the face when you sleep, okay?”

“I can’t make any promises, Ah Chen.” Yangyang teases.

“Yang – ge!”

“Alright! Enough you two.” Kun smiles at the younger two. “Get some sleep, okay? Come on now, under the covers, you two.”

“Yes, Kun – ge.” Both Yangyang and Chenle mutter. Not long after, the fatigue from today has taken over all of them, pulling them all to dream land.

It was, in fact, a hell of day for all them.

The next couple months all flashed by in a blur, with Junmyeon monitoring their training from every angle. After about five weeks, they’ve all been handpicked and assigned to different parts of the mafia. Johnny, Yuta, Mark, Lucas, Doyoung, Chenle and Jisung who all exceeded Junmyeon’s expectations in firearm weaponry, were all assigned in the Elyxion unit, the highest unit amongst the ranks, spearheaded by Byun Baekhyun, where all of Junmyeon’s skilled soldiers are in. They go on large scale and high-profile operations such as robberies, vehicle hijacking, drug den raids, human trafficking, and even shoot to kill missions. Of course, since Mark, Lucas, Chenle, and Jisung were still too young to participate in such missions, they stay behind for the most part and only act up when needed. Jeno, who excels in swordsmanship, caught the attention of one the caporegimes, Zhang Yixing. There, Jeno hones his skills and go on spying missions with Yixing’s team as a backup. Taeyong was able to continue his Tae Kwon Do training under the black belter Kim Jongdae, also one of Junmyeon’s caporegimes.

And while everyone gets taught how to throw punches and shoot a gun, there were still who shined in other fields such as I.T. and Psychology. Kun, who apparently used to eat codes back in high school, was put as in the cyber unit along with Sicheng, Hendery, Yangyang, Dejun, and Ten under Do Kyungsoo’s lead. Taeil, Renjun, and Jaehyun was handpicked by Park Chanyeol himself, the underboss, to train them how to hypnotize, interrogate, and read people in general. While Chenle was already a part of the Elyxion unit, he was also taken under Chanyeol’s wing, saying that music and hypnosis work hand in hand in the grand scheme of things.

And it was Haechan’s fascination with chemistry and physics that put him right beside Oh Sehun, the one responsible for stealing a fifteen million dollars biochemical weapon from an undercover lab in St. Petersburg that could potentially annihilate all of South Korea if he wanted to. And lastly, Jungwoo and Jaemin, who pretty much dominated in everything, were assigned as Junmyeon’s bodyguards (or to just keep him company in meetings given their young age).

**MACAU, 3:23 PM CST, 4: 23 PM KST**

Then on one cloudy afternoon in Macau, Taeyong finds himself some free time and decides to have a drink with Junmyeon.

“Ah, you shouldn’t drink during missions, Taeyong – ah.” Junmyeon scolds the younger lightheartedly.

“Please, let us! The deal was a success and now we have the full support of the Wang Clan on our side. This calls for a celebration!”

“Alright, alright. If you insist so much.”

The two headed down to the bar inside of the hotel they’re staying at. They sat themselves at the far end of the bar counter, consciously avoiding the eyes of the public. Taeyong orders two glasses of Macallan scotch on the rocks and gives one to Junmymeon. They share a toast and down the drink.

“You know, Taeyong – ah, I’m really lucky to have you in my family.” Junmyeon states after a few more glasses.

“We feel even more lucky that you found us.” Taeyong confesses. “If not for you, we’d probably still be living like sewer rats back in Silim – dong.”

“And what’s so wrong with living in Silim – dong?”

“It’s not really the nicest place to live. I feel bad for the kids every day that we lived there.”

“Hey now, you shouldn’t talk bad about that part of your life. You managed to take care of twenty other kids while being a kid yourself. You made ends meet in your ways. That’s something to brag about.”

“Hm, if you put it that way. Although I didn’t do it all, you know. Taeil hyung, Johnny, and Yuta all helped as well. We all did.”

“And now look at you all. In ten years’ time, that place that you used to call a shithole will become a memorable place for all of you.”

“I know. That’s why we feel so lucky to have cross paths with you.” Taeyong takes a sip of his glass, and looks at Junmyeon again. “ _Hyung,_ can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.” Junmyeon smiles at the younger.

“Remember what you said when you met me and Ten again?” He starts. Junmyeon looks down on the countertop.

“Yeah?”

“How you said you were intrigued by us when you first saw us at the bus station?”

“Ah, that.” He laughs a little. “Actually, I knew of you guys even when you were still in Busan.”

“What? How?”

“I have an officer under my payroll who told me about how a group of kids managed to survive a school massacre. I gave it some thought and said ‘wow, these kids are something else!’ and I asked him some info about you guys. And the funny thing was that you managed to escape a highly guarded facility just like that and disappeared from the face of the earth since then. Like I gotta admit, that’s gonna be a fun story to tell in the future!”

“Well, it was either we get stuck there or get killed by the gunmen. Either way it was a lose – lose situation.”

“How’d you do it?” Junmyeon now looks at Taeyong.

“Do what?”

“How’d you managed to get out there?”

“Pure luck, I guess? We didn’t even know the entire floor plan of the building; we just went with our guts.”

“You kids are something else, then.”

“So, you mean to tell me you’ve been keeping tabs on us since back in Busan?”

“Yeah. I found about you guys when you were still at the facility. After that, I didn’t get news for a while since you escaped and all. Then, an intel told me that he saw you riding a bus to Seoul and I knew that’s my chance.”

“To take us in and exploit us?”

“Ah, don’t put it that way. I gave you a better life, didn’t I?”

“I mean, you could’ve at least sent Chenle and Jisung to school.”

“That’s a risk. They’d be seen by the public. And what if the gunmen see them?”

“I don’t even think they know what we looked like since we were all hiding. And besides, the police made it look like no one survived that incident. We’re practically ghosts now.”

“Don’t be so negative, Jung Hee – ah.”

“Hyung, I respect you; I really do. But please don’t.”

“Alright, alright.” Junmyeon waves his hand as if to dismiss the conversation. “Let’s have one last toast and head back upstairs. I’m tired and we have an early flight to Luxembourg tomorrow.”

“Understood. Cheers?” Taeyong lifts his glass to toast.

“Cheers!” Junmyeon exclaims, clinking his glass with Taeyong.

And after a year since meeting Junmyeon, things were finally, _finally_ looking up for them, this much Taeyong can confirm. From having to share a loaf of bread between twenty-one people, to dining at a five-star Michelin restaurant at least twice a day, Taeyong can say that they’ll be okay, they’ll be alright – somehow.

**SEOUL, 11: 22 AM KST**

“Guys, guys! Did you hear? Johnny hyung and Yuta hyung are coming back from Milan today! I heard their mission was a success!” Jaehyun barges into their living room, startling everyone in the process.

“We know! You told us this afternoon!” Ten calls out from the kitchen.

“I hope Johnny bought the F.P. Journe watch like I asked him to.” Taeil wonders in response to Jaehyun’s ruckus.

“Bold of you to assume he’d give it to you after trying it on.” Taeyong teases from beside him.

Jaehyun, who has now situated himself beside Taeyong joins in on the older two’s conversation. “He really needs to stop collecting watches. It’s not like he’s going to wear them all at once.”

“Nah, let him be. It’s not like you’re not hoarding all the designer clothes as well.” Taeil defends Johnny.

“But maybe try to put some color on them as well?” Taeyong tells him. “You know, it’s not like you’ll run out black clothing anytime soon.”

“What? Black looks good on me!”

“I’m just saying, try to wear some color.” Taeil tries again.

“I guess I’ll try?” Jaehyun cocks an eyebrow at the older two, but deep down he knows he’s not going to.

“Everyone! Let’s have some snack! Doyoung made some tteokbokki!” Kun grabs everyone’s attention as he sets up the table. Everyone gathers at the tiny dining table, bowls and chopsticks passed around as they serve themselves a sizeable serving. Hums of satisfaction flow around the room.

“Thank you for the food!” They all exclaim in unison.

“Gosh, I missed eating street foods.” Renjun confesses after eating a mouthful.

“Right? As much as I love having caviar for breakfast, I do miss eating this.” Chenle adds.

“Chenle – ah, you’ve been eating caviar even before this.” Jeno deadpans.

“I wasn’t that rich before.”

“You were still rich.”

“Yes, but not like I am now.”

“Fine, fine.” Jeno dismisses the conversation and Chenle continues on enjoying their food.

After a while, Kun feels his phone vibrate from the front pocket of his jeans. He takes it out nonchalantly and sees that there’s a notification from Kyungsoo. The text read _‘I need you and the rest back in HQ asap. Something’s gone wrong. We lost communication to the plane Junmyeon’s in.’_

 _“_ What the fuck?” Kun curses out loud, Jaemin immediately covering Jisung’s ears.

“No swearing!” he scolds.

“Kyungsoo hyung lost comms with the plane Junmyeon’s in.”

“What? What happened?” Taeyong stands up from his chair, a mortified look on his face.

“He didn’t say anything else. He just wants us back in HQ.”

“Wait, aren’t Johnny hyung and Yuta hyung on that plane, too?” Chenle wonders out loud and the room becomes silent.

“Let’s go, everyone.” Kun orders monotonously. His appearance devoid of any emotion.

When they reach HQ, both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were walking around frantically giving orders in hopes of being able to communicate with the plane again.

“Boss, what’s going on?” Hendery was the first to ask the question, catching Kyungsoo’s attention.

“The comms got disconnected mid – flight. We can’t reach anyone on that plane. Even the watch tower in Incheon can’t contact the plane.” Kyungsoo manages to spurt out despite walking back on forth between his people.

“How’s that possible? I mean unless something happened to the plane – “ Hendery cuts himself off just thinking about that possibility.

“Don’t talk like that! Johnny hyung and Yuta hyung are on that plane!” Ten reasons. “If something were to happen to them, oh my god.” He covers his face in fear of the thought.

“Kun,” Chanyeol calls his attention from behind him. “Call Taeyong as well. Tell him to come. Him and I need to talk.”

“Understood.” He bows in acknowledgement. He takes out his phone and dials Taeyong’s number hurriedly. After three rings, Taeyong picks up. “Hyung! Boss Chanyeol wants you here in HQ as well. Please come.” Taeyong mutters an ‘okay, I’m on my way’ before ending the call. “He’s on his way, boss.”

“okay, I’ll leave everything to you guys for a while. Kyungsoo, don’t lose focus, okay?”

“I won’t. You be careful!”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll take my leave.” Chanyeol does a curt bow to everyone and leaves the room.

“Where is boss Chanyeol going?” Sicheng asks to no one in particular.

“He’s going up there to see if the plane is still flying.” Kyungsoo replies swiftly.

“What? How is he going to do that if we don’t even know where the plane is?”

“We do. Or so we did. Their last known location was just 500 kilometers east of Dalian, China.”

“So, he’s going there? And what happens if he can’t find them there?”

“Then we start looking for a wreckage in the ocean.”

Best to say the kids were not expecting that answer from Kyungsoo.

Right as Chanyeol was about to hop in an SUV, Taeyong arrives as well. “Boss, you wanted to talk to me?”

“Oh, yeah. I need you to stay on guard for the meantime. We don’t know what’s happening up there.” Chanyeol starts. “This could be an assassination or a sabotage, I don’t know. If worse comes to worse, tell Minseok hyung he’ll be put in charge and Baekhyun will be second in command, understood?”

“Yes, understood, boss. Take care!” Taeyong bows as Chanyeol enters the vehicle.

When Taeyong got to the cyber room, it was as if he walked into a jungle. There were people running around, words of order spoken faster than the speed of light, the endless tapping of keyboards fly around the air – it was utter chaos. Then, he spots Kun at the front, seated right beside Kyungsoo. To their right, Sicheng and Hendery were typing something into the computer.

“Hyung, you came!” It was Yangyang who finally acknowledged his arrival. “What did boss Chanyeol tell you?”

“Oh, just some orders. Nothing serious.”

“Like what?”

“You know, like if something were to happen to him, boss Minseok will become the new leader and that boss Baekhyun will be his underboss.”

“Hyung, that’s totally not not serious!”

“I was trying not to make you panic!”

“Well, it didn’t work, and now I’m even more nervous.” Yangyang looks on ahead at the giant screen at the front of the room. “Like what if Johnny hyung and Yuta hyung don’t make it home?”

“Hey, now. Don’t talk like that. Let’s try to stay positive, alright? Believe in boss Chanyeol! There’s a reason why boss Junmyeon made him second in command.”

“Then, who would be your second in command then, hyung?”

“Mine? All of a sudden?”

“Yeah! If you get to have your own mafia one day, who would you make your second in command?”

“Hmm, maybe Johnny? I don’t know.”

“But you and Johnny hyung butt heads all the time.”

“But I trust him. I already trusted my life to him even when we were still in Busan.”

“I guess you could say; ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’ right?”

“But he’s not my enemy.”

“But he knows all your secrets. If you two were to fight, he could rat you out to the enemy. _Thus_ , you’d put him in a position close to yours.”

“Wow, Yangyang, where’d you learn how to say ‘thus?’”

“Johnny hyung taught me.”

“Of course, it was him.” Taeyong smiles.

“Ah, Taeyong – ah! You came! Come here quickly!” Kyungsoo calls him over. “I’m sure Chanyeol hyung has already briefed you on what’s going on?”

“Yes, and he even told me that he’ll put boss Minseok in charge and boss Baekhyun as second in command if things were to go south.”

“I can’t believe he thought that far already.” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath. “Anyway, we still haven’t found any plane debris within a five-mile radius from Dalian, at least that's what shows up on our satelite images so it’s safe to assume that the plane is still flying. Chanyeol is twenty minutes away from their last known location so keep your fingers crossed.”

“Do you think the plane got hijacked?” Taeyong looks at Kyungsoo.

“Highly unlikely. They boarded the plane at a private hangar. Unless one of those on board is a mole then hijacking is impossible.”

“Then how sure are we that there isn’t a mole among them?”

“Hyung, don’t talk like that!” Kun scolds him, not even taking his eyes of his monitor.

“I’m sure you’re well aware of how Junmyeon handpicks his men. There’s no way he wouldn’t be able to see a mole when he sees one.”

“That is true. So now what?”

“We’re waiting for Chanyeol to give us some intel, that way we’ll know our next move. If the plane is still around Dalian, then we’d initiate an extraction mission. If not, we’d have to expand the search area. Though there is a gray area on that part since we don’t know if they’re alive or not so it’s a fifty – fifty.”

“Do the other capos know already of what’s going on?”

“Yeah, they’re all here in HQ. Though I’m pretty sure Jongin went with Chanyeol just in case.”

“I hope they find the plane.”

“I hope so too.”

_“Kyungsoo – ah, the plane is nowhere in Dalian! Have a search party around the coastal area immediately!”_ Chanyeol’s loud voice boomed through the comms.

“Dammit!” Kyungsoo slams his hand on the table. “Where the fuck are you, hyung?”

It takes another ten minutes before Chanyeol’s voice could be heard. “ _We found a crash site! It’s in the western coast of Yeonpyeong Island! Tell Baekhyun to come quickly!”_

“Alright, I got it!” Kyungsoo replies swiftly. “Kun, have an extraction team dispatched at once to the western part of Yeonpyeong island!”

“Understood, boss!”

At the western part of Yeonpyeong Island, the extraction team finally reached the crash site. Doyoung, who is part of the team, immediately loses it at the sight before him. The plane was totally wrecked, and his hope for the passengers’ survival disappears. But he still pushes forward and starts walking towards the wreckage. He starts walking through the debris and looks for any signs of life. As he walks forward, he sees a hand sticking out through the debris and his heart immediately jumped out of his chest. There’s no way he won’t recognize that bracelet anywhere. It was a bracelet Jaemin and Jisung made for everyone using scrap fabric during one afternoon when they were still living in the container back in Busan.

“Yuta hyung!” He screams at the top of his lungs. “Yuta hyung! Yuta hyung!” Doyoung drops to his knees and holds Yuta’s hand in his. “Yu – Yu – Yuta hyu – hyung.” He whispers, tears already forming in his eyes. Doyoung keeps on wriggling Yuta’s hand, trying, hoping that the older one would respond but to no avail. “Boss! I found Yuta hyung!” He calls out to Baekhyun. Baekhyun notices him and orders the other soldiers to get the debris off Yuta. They start taking it out piece by piece, and with each piece being lifted off, the more it reveals of Yuta’s state. A medic was called and examines Yuta – he was unconscious but he’s alive. Doyoung can finally now breathe a breath he’s been holding since seeing Yuta.

On the other side of the wreckage, more and more soldiers were being recovered, though not all of them were alive. Junmyeon and Johnny were still yet to be recovered and Doyoung is starting to lose his patience. After few more minutes, the two pilots’ remains have been recovered followed by the black box of the plane.

“Boss, we found boss Junmyeon!” A soldier calls out. Baekhyun sprints to their location and starts to remove the debris himself.

“Hyung! Hyung!” Baekhyun pleads. “Please be alive! Please be alive!” Once he uncovers all of the debris, Baekhyun couldn’t help but let his tears fall. “Oh my God! Junmyeon hyung!” Junmyeon was lying down on the dirt face down. At first glance, it seemed like nothing was wrong nor piercing his body. They immediately pulled him out of the wreckage and into a helicopter to transport him back to Seoul for treatment. Everyone sighs in relief, though Doyoung still can’t be at ease since Johnny was still missing. He circles the entire crash site once more just to make sure he didn’t miss anything. He reasons that he might have overlooked a few spots where Johnny could still be stuck in. After looking around a few more times, he decides to walk away from the crash site and into the forest at the far end of the crash site. He walks around slowly, looking at every nook and cranny, and makes sure he doesn’t miss a spot. As much as he wants to find Johnny, he also wants to make sure he doesn’t miss any of the other soldiers. He was walking around for about fifteen minutes until he sees someone hunched over at a stream drinking water. He approaches the figure carefully, trying not startle them. And once he was a few feet away from them, Doyoung sighs in relief.

“Johnny hyung!” He calls out as he walks over. Johnny looks up at him a smile forms on his face.

“Doyoung – ah, you’re here!”

“Hyung!” Doyoung tries to hug Johnny, but as soon as Doyoung had one arm wrapped around Johnny’s torso, he whimpers in pain.

“It’s my left side, I think it got hit with something. It’s too painful.”

“Are you feeling any pain elsewhere?”

“My head hurts too. I’m actually surprised I’m still alive.” He tries to joke.

“Come on, let’s get you in a stretcher. Hop on my back, I’ll carry you there.”

“I can walk just fine, Doyoung – ah.”

“Now’s not the time to be disobedient, hyung. Come on, hurry!” Johnny can’t help but oblige and climbs on Doyoung’s back. Despite Johnny being a few inches taller than Doyoung, he somehow managed to carry Johnny just fine.

“Wait, what about Yuta? Did they find him? He and I got separated when the plane was falling down.”

“He’s okay. I found him. He has a fractured skull but the medic says he’ll live.”

“Oh, thank God! And boss Junmyeon?”

“They found him too. They’re currently in the helicopter getting first aid.”

When they reach the helicopter, Johnny was immediately assisted by the medic team and laid down on a stretcher. They inspected him to see if he was injured elsewhere and gladly announces that they found nothing else aside from the bruise on the back of his head and the left side of his torso.

“Where’d you find him?” Baekhyun asks once they were already up in the air and headed back to Seoul.

“Just a few meters away from the crash site. I’m relieved I decided to walk a bit further away otherwise we wouldn’t have found him.”

“Good job, Doyoung – ah. You did well today.” Baekhyun squeezes his shoulder as if to tell him he did a good job.

“But boss, who will clean up the mess we made today?”

“Don’t worry about it. Yixing’s team will be there in a while. They’ll know how to dispose of it. We just got lucky the media didn’t arrive sooner or else this would have been broadcasted everywhere.”

“I agree. This would put boss Junmyeon at a disadvantage since his enemies now know that he’s not in good health.”

“True. Which is why he needs to recover fast. I’m sure Jongin can fix him up quickly.”

It’s been two weeks since the plane crash. In that time, they had managed to find the cause of the crash – a loose screw in one of the engines on the right wing. Chanyeol has been put in emergency power for the meantime while Junmyeon recovers and so far, he’s been doing a pretty okay job. Yuta was put in an induced coma and is still recovering in the ICU after receiving a few staples for his fractured skull. Johnny was put in the general ward since his injuries aren’t that serious. Junmyeon on the other hand, was the worst of them all. He had dislocated his spine, a big blow to the head, and three broken limbs. And to make things worse, his mental health was starting to degenerate.

_“You’ll never be able to walk again, hyung. I’m sorry.”_

“Jongin – ah! You couldn’t put in a much nicer way?” Minseok scolds.

“What else am I suppose to say? Even if we managed to heal his broken limbs, he still wouldn’t be able to move them because of his spine. Look, it’s not his limbs that’s the problem here, it’s his spine. He’s lost mobility over them.”

“It’s fine, Minseok hyung. I kinda expected this anyway. So,” Junmyeon looks at Jongin. “How much time do I have left?”

“You’re not going to die, hyung. You just won’t be able to stand up and walk again.”

“Dying sounds more fun if you think about it.” Junmyeon tries to lighten the mood. He thinks for a moment before looking back up at Minseok. “Hyung, would you let me go to Switzerland alone?”

Upon hearing this, Minseok couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. Jongin was standing there in shock and dare not say another word.

“Are you crazy? Why would you go there?” Minseok exclaims.

“Hyung, is it really living if I’m gonna be stuck in a wheelchair forever?”

“Yes! Because you’re still alive! What’s wrong with being in a wheelchair?”

“How am I going to run this family and the business if I even have to have someone dress me up in the morning?”

“You can still do those things! That’s why you have me, right? And Chanyeol and Jongin, too! Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Jongdae, Sehun, Yixing, hell even Taeyong is here for you! Don’t lose hope, Junmyeon – ah.”

“I’ll think about it, hyung. But I think my mind is made up already.”

After a few days, Chanyeol and Taeyong were finally able to visit Junmyeon in the hospital.

“Hyung!” Chanyeol greets as he and Taeyong enter the room. Junmyeon looks at the both of them and gives them a warm smile. “We brought Sushi!” Chanyeol lifts the plastic bag containing the food before placing it on the bedside table. “So, how are you?”

“I think I’m doing well. But I wouldn’t know really since I can’t feel my legs.”

“You can’t feel… your legs?” Taeyong asks carefully.

“I broke my spine.” Junmyeon casually mentions. “I broke three limbs as well but then again I wouldn’t need them anyway since I can’t even sit up on my own anymore.”

“But you’ll be okay, right?” Chanyeol faces Junymeon, his eyebrows scrunched together.

“Jongin said I’ll live. But who knows?”

“Hyung, don’t even think about that!”

“Ah, are you here to talk me out of it, too? Is that why you brought Taeyong as well?”

“You have to think about the consequences of your actions! How would the mafia be if you left?”

“You’re already the boss, right? That’s up to you now.”

“Hyung!”

“Don’t, Chanyeol – ah. I’ve made up my mind. You can’t stop me.” Junmyeon looks out the window to avoid looking at Chanyeol. “I trust the family would be in good hands with you. Please don’t break my trust.”

“But, hyung!”

“Please, Chanyeol – ah. I’ll have Jongdae arrange the necessary documents needed to transfer everything under your name. It’s up to you who’ll you appoint as your underboss.” Junmyeon looks at Taeyong. “And maybe let Taeyong lead his own team now. I’m confident he’s ready.”

“Don’t be like that, hyung! Please!” Chanyeol reasons.

“It’s no use. I don’t think I’m ready to live a life just sitting down. You know me. You know how much I love to move around and do things myself.”

“Are you really just giving up just like that, boss?” Taeyong finally speaks up.

“I’m not giving up. I’m doing everyone a favor by not being a burden and passing the torch to someone who’s more capable of handling things much better than myself.”

“But you’re not a burden!”

“I’m not one, yet. But when everyone’s sick of taking care of me, then I’ll be a burden. So, to make sure we don’t get there, I’ll leave first.”

Chanyeol and Taeyong can’t say another word anymore. It seems that whatever attempt they throw at Junmyeon will only result in failure.

As Junmyeon had ordered, Chanyeol had announced to the rest of the mafia that he would now be in charge permanently following Junmyeon’s retirement. In a span of two months, He had already appointed Baekhyun as his second in command, while Minseok will remain as their consigliere. Jongdae’s unit and Baekhyun’s unit will merge and will become the Monster Elyxion Unit. Taeyong, who was promoted as a caporegime, took in Jaemin, Jungwoo, Doyoung and Jisung under his team, with plans of moving his friends from their previous unit to his.

“Boss Junmyeon, you wanted to see me?”

“Ah, Jisung – ah, how are you? Come in!” He motions for Jisung to step inside the room and instructs him to sit on the chair beside the bed. “How have you been holding up? How’s your Johnny hyung?”

“He’s doing okay. He’s still resting back at home.”

“And Yuta?”

“He’s awake now, but still can’t go home. Kun hyung says that he’ll be alright, too.”

“That’s good to know.” Junmyeon smiles. “You know, the reason why I asked you to come here is because I have something very important to tell you and you can’t tell anybody else, okay? Not even Chenle. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand, boss.”

“Pinky promise?” Junmyeon holds out his pinky finger for Jisung to intertwine with his.

“Pinky promise!” Jisung laughs a bit.

“Okay, so, I’ll be leaving for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Are you really? But what about us?”

“I’m sure Taeyong will take care of you just fine.” He squeezes Jisung's hand as comfort. “Now, there’s this paper that I want you to write your name on.”

“What kind of paper?”

“It’s a bank account document.”

“And?”

“I want you to sign it.”

“Then what’s that got to do with me?” At this point, Junmyeon’s patience was running thin with how many questions Jisung was asking.

“This is a bank account that I own and I’m writing your name in it. You do know what a bank account is, right?”

“Yeah, Doyoung hyung talks about it all the time since he takes care of our money.”

“Good, good. Now, what this means is that when you sign this paper, you’ll get to own this bank account with me and when you turn eighteen, you’ll be able to own this bank account all on your own.”

“But why are you giving it to me?

“Because I trust that you’ll take care of this bank account when you grow older. But you have to promise me, you can’t let anyone know of this, okay? This will be our secret from now on.”

“Can I at least know how much is in it?”

“You’ll find out when you get older.”

“Is the bank here in Seoul?”

“No, it’s in Europe. The bank will send you a letter the day you turn eighteen.”

“Okay, boss Junmyeon. I won’t tell anyone of this.”

“Good, good. Alright, now just sign here." Junmyeon instructs Jisung. The younger reaches for the paper and places it on the bedside table. He grabs the pen by Junmyeon's side and signs with it - clumsy letters and a shaky signature. When Junmyeon sees what Jisung has done, he smiles from ear to ear and looks at Jisung. Jisung then hands him the papers afterwards."Okay, go and play with Chenle now. Thank you, Jisung – ah.”

“Thank you, boss Junmyeon for taking care of us up to this point. I hope you recover fast and come back stronger! Fighting!” Junmyeon couldn’t help but let the tears fall at what Jisung said. The fact that the young one was still expecting him to come back. Oh, no. Oh, no. What was he doing? _No, Junmyeon. You’ve already gone this far. You can’t turn back now._

The day after that, when Jongin was supposed to check up on Junmyeon, he opens the door to his room only to find the bed empty. “Hyung! Junmyeon hyung is missing! He’s not here!”

 _What do you mean he’s not there? Then where the hell is he? Check the CCTVs!_ Chanyeol’s loud voice booms through the phone speakers. Jongin rushes upstairs and into the director’s office. Minseok was sat in his swivel chair facing the window, a skyline view of Seoul could be seen from the tall windows. “Hyung, Junmyeon’s gone! I don’t know where he went!”

“I know. I saw him leave earlier today.”

“What? Why didn’t you stop him?”

“There’s no point, Jongin – ah. It’s his life after all. We can’t control it.”

“But where is he going? Maybe Chanyeol hyung can still catch up to him.”

“Don’t bother. If this is what’s going to make him happy, then let him. There’s nothing more miserable than dying unhappy.”

“Should we tell them where he went?”

“No. He’s already said his farewell, that’s enough.”

“But who’s with him? Is he all alone?”

“I believe I saw him with a friend.”

“Is it the _friend_?”

“Yeah, him.”

A whole week had passed without anyone knowing that Junmyeon was already gone except for the higher ups. They’ve been trying to keep it within themselves so as to not cause panic amongst the ranks. And in addition to the gloomy atmosphere, Chanyeol was doing a terrible job at handling everything as the permanent leader. It was fine when it was temporary, but somehow, it’s gone downhill from then. And when it was time to split up Junmyeon’s properties and funds did it start to cause a ruckus.

“What do you mean all of his bank accounts were wiped clean? Not even a single trace?” Chanyeol slams his hand on the table. He was currently in a meeting with the higher ups and the capos of the family.

“Nothing. It’s like all the money were just deleted just like that without a trace.” Kyungsoo supplies.

“How is that even possible? Where could he have transferred his money?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. I don’t even know how he managed to do that without me knowing.”

“What do we do now?” Baekhyun asks.

“Nothing. We do nothing about it. It was his money after all. Why are even after something that’s not ours?” Minseok scolds.

“But hyung!”

“I don’t want to hear any more of this! Let’s leave it at that! Honestly, it’s much better that it disappeared. That’s one less thing I have to stress about.”

“But what about his properties? What do we do with it?” Sehun adds.

“Nothing! It was already written in his will what will happen to each one. Let his parents and brother handle it.”

“But we need those properties! More than half of them were beneficial to the mafia and the printing company.” Chanyeol reasons.

“Then we’ll find our own means of funds.” Minseok states nonchalantly.

“That’s easier said than done and you know that very well.”

“I know. But I’m not about to go after my late friend’s money and properties for my own personal gain.”

“It’s not a personal gain! I’m thinking about the family he left behind!”

“There you go again, Chanyeol – ah. Stop it before I point a gun at your face.”

“Calm down, hyung.” Yixing places a hand on Minseok’s shoulder. “Chanyeol – ah, just sit down and let’s talk about this in a civil manner.”

“I think Minseok hyung is right.” Jongin agrees. “I think we shouldn’t mingle with Junmyeon hyung’s stuff most especially now that he’s gone. What do you think, Taeyong – ah?”

“Me?” Taeyong was startled, not really expecting to be dragged into the conversation. “I don’t really have a say in this.”

“Yes, you do.” Baekhyun reassures him. “He trusted you a lot that’s why he kept you by his side all the time.”

“Well, I don’t really know how this works so I can’t really say anything.”

“Sure you – “

“Baekhyun stop it!” Minseok scolds him. “Both of you, stop this already! I’ve had enough of this. Just the fact that we’re sat here talking about who gets what means that we never really cared about Junmyeon as a person and only wanted his money! I’m sick!” Minseok stands up and starts to leave the room.

“I don’t think Minseok hyung is going to talk to us for a while.” Jongdae breaks the silence.

“I’ll go talk to him?” Taeyong offers as he stands up from his seat. He leaves the room and bolts after Minseok who was just about to enter the elevator.

“Boss Minseok!” He calls out.

“Taeyong – ah,” Minseok faces him. “If you have any semblance of humanity left in you, I suggest you take your friends with you and leave the mafia for good.”

“Wha – what?”

“I knew this was gonna happen.” He mutters under his breath. “I personally don’t like the way Chanyeol runs things and I especially don’t like the way he treats people when they don’t follow his orders.”

But how can we just leave after everything boss Junmyeon and this mafia did for us?”

“Junmyeon wouldn’t allow everything that Chanyeol has done so far. I can’t believe he was just waiting for Junmyeon to disappear before he shows his true colors! Hell, he probably sabotaged the plane Junmyeon was in as well!”

“Boss, I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion so quickly! The CSI said it was a defect from the manufacturer itself.”

“Who’s to say Chanyeol didn’t plan that as well?” Taeyong couldn’t speak after that. He tries his best to stay positive amidst the heavy mood he was currently in. He thinks about it through. If they leave, where would they go?

“But where would we go? He’ll eventually find out if we left!”

“Taeyong – ah, I think you’re forgetting the fact that you’re a millionaire now, all of you. Fleeing and finding a place to stay isn’t that hard as compared to a year ago.”

“But where? Where’s a place that not even boss Kyungsoo can find us?”

“Go back to Silim – dong. Chanyeol hated that place so much because he grew up there. He would never let any of his men go near that place.”

“Do you really think this is a good idea? I don’t really know what to think anymore.”

“Trust me, I know Chanyeol. When things don’t go his way, he starts to go berserk and will shoot at the first thing he sees. With the way he’s handling things, there’s bound to be a rebellion sooner or later.”

“But he’ll get even more mad if he found out that we left!”

“Taeyong – ah, I’m trying to save yours and your friends' lives. Go on and leave before things start to get serious.” And when Minseok notices that Taeyong was still unmoving from his spot, he says; “That’s an order, Lee Taeyong!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Honestly this fic is more of an experimental one for me since I've never written a story of this length yet. Usually if my chapters were exceeding 5k words I'd dip and call it a day. And I've never written a mafia au before so it was very (?) educational doing some research for this story. 
> 
> Anyway, constructive criticism is always welcome! If you think some parts need editing let me know in the comments!  
> See you in the next chapter!


	3. Regular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got them racks on me ,I brought the whole lit team with me.  
> I might pull up in a spaceship. Hop out it, don't look like I live here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! I finally updated!!! We've now finished the back story and the next coming chapters will now focus on the main story. 
> 
> I also want to ask you guys if you want to keep the chat texts? I only added them here for comedic effects and to help move the story forward. 
> 
> anyway, in case you're kunfused, here are their chat ID's just incase. But if you've been in the fandom for a while, you'll be able to guess who's who. 
> 
> taeil - taeil_moon  
> johnny - johnnyjsuh  
> tae - tae_dragon  
> yuta - yutakoyaki  
> kun - kunfused  
> doyoung - bunny.doie  
> ten - 10lee  
> jae - jaejaemochi  
> sicheng - winwinner  
> jungwoo - swoopy  
> lucas - sushiking  
> mark - watermelion  
> dejun - breadcheeks  
> hendery - cucumberprince  
> renjun - injeolmi  
> jeno - je_no  
> haechan - fullsun  
> jaemin - bunny.nana  
> yangyang - sheepx2  
> chenle - bighead1  
> jisung - bighead2
> 
> P.S. WE ARE NOW 8 DAYS AWAY FROM NCT 2020!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO'S EXCITED????????????????????????
> 
> okay, onto the tags!
> 
> tw // guns, drugs, mentions of underage prostitution

**SEOUL, 1: 25 PM KST**

10lee: hey guys should we get a pet?

jaejaemochi: I thought we already have one?

sheepx2: hyung ☹ sheeps are friends not pets ☹

swoopy: I thought we already have two pet rabbits?

bunny.nana: 😊

bunny.doie: no more gambas for you jungwoo

swoopy: 😭

10lee: im so sorry jungwoo

swoopy: its fine I know doyoung hyung hates me

bunny.doie: 😈

yutakoyaki: lmao

cucumberprince: on another note though, can we really get a pet?

bunny.doie: is that really your top priority now, kunhang?

cucumberprince: yeah?? What about it?

tae_dragon: are you really prepared to feel the full wrath of doie, hendery?

cucumberprince: come at me bro

Bighead1: bRO

jaejaemochi: rip in pieces hendery wong. gone but not forgotten

swoopy: may his soul find the true swag he was looking for

bighead1: swag on, hyung

bunny.doie: ANYWAY,,, BACK TO THE TOPIC AT HAND

johnnyjsuh: oh right time to adult again ok ok

johnnyjsuh: So, what are we supposed to do now?

yutakoyaki: beats me. any takers?

taeil_moon: why don’t we just all move to Jeju Island like some crazy rich pensioner?

sheepx2: that’s not fair! Why would I retire at the age of twelve?

jaejaemochi: it was a joke yangyang

sheepx2: I know that

winwinner: why don’t we all just move to the north pole?

fullsun: omg sicheng ge big brain

je_no: wait that’s not a bad idea I’ve always wanted to play with the polar bears

kunfused: I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation

bunny.doie: why are you all talking through the group chat? We’re all literally in the living room?

fullsun: why are you talking to us through the gc?

_bunny.doie has left the group chat_

tae_dragon: I think we broke doyoung

sushiking: doie hyung no come back

breadcheeks: mmmmm whatcha say when you only say when

“Are you guys going to continue talking through the chat? We have a crisis on our hand!” Doyoung finally snaps.

Injeolmi: why is doyoung hyung yelling? I can’t tell im still no 2ing

bighead2: that’s so gross renjun hyung

watermelion: whats going on I just woke up

“Hey! The wifi’s not working anymore!” Yangyang complains as he puts his phone down. Then, at the corner of his eye, he spots Doyoung who was just standing up with the plug in his hand. “Doyoung hyung! Plug it back in!”

“Not until you all put down your phones!”

“What’s so serious about what you have to say, anyway?”

“I don’t know about you, but I care about my life and my future. But if you all don’t, then that’s fine. Let boss Chanyeol find you and skin you alive.”

“Relax,” Taeyong tries to soothe Doyoung. “Technically, he doesn’t know yet that we’re leaving. We haven’t really done anything except miss a day of work. It’s fine.”

“Well, are we going to continue skipping work until he barges in here and make us compensate for our absences?”

“Of course not. By the time he notices we would have left already.”

“Which is why it’s important that we have this conversation now! Where are we going, oh great leader Lee Taeyong?”

“Boss Minseok said we should go back to Silim – dong. But I doubt that’s a good idea. Boss Chanyeol might not look for us there himself, but I’m sure he’ll send the other capos to catch us.”

“So where to, exactly? Got a place in mind?” Johnny finally puts down his phone and joins the conversation.

“I was thinking that we don’t actually leave at all.”

“What?” Doyoung, Johnny, and Yangyang exclaim in unison.

“No, no!” He laughs a little at the three’s reaction. “What I meant to say was that we’d leave the mafia but stay in Seoul.”

“How’s that gonna happen? We’re gonna get caught sooner or later!”

“No, we won’t! We’ll buy our own house somewhere fancy.”

“Oooh, the one in Hannam – dong seems fancy enough.” Johnny adds.

“That’ll be the last place Chanyeol would look for us because let’s be real, what are the odds that a bunch of kids can afford an apartment that pricey?”

“Not unless they’re mafia kids!” Yangyang jokes.

“Exactly! Kun – ah!” Taeyong calls for Kun who was in the balcony.

“Yeah?” Kun looks back at Taeyong.

“Do you still have the network framework from boss Kyungsoo?”

“I do. What about it?”

“Can you copy it?”

“I can try. Why?”

“Do you think it’s time we make our own mafia?”

“Are you out of your mind?!” Doyoung scolds Taeyong. “With the money we already have, we can all live a normal life away from all of this!”

“But why stop there? We’re already in too deep in this kind of life, why not dig deeper?”

“Honestly, I kinda agree with Taeyong on this one.” Johnny adds.

“Johnny hyung!”

“Hyung, what are you thinking?” Kun walks towards them.

“As I said, I think it’s time we make our own mafia. But not just a mafia. How about we make a cover up company, too? Like boss Junmyeon’s printing company so we have an extra income?”

“But that’s gonna take a lot of effort and a lot of money, too.” Johnny interjects.

“Which is why we’ll have to go back to our old ways. But more serious, in a sense?”

“You mean stealing from the government and selling it to the highest bidder?” Yangyang suggest. Both Doyoung and Kun looked at him with concern.

“That’s a little too extreme. We need some more experience if we’re gonna pull that off.”

“Then what?” Doyoung was getting impatient with how this conversation is going.

“Well, definitely not stealing from the government.” Taeyong thinks for a second. “How about robbing a bank?”

“That’s too risky. One wrong move and we’re all going to jail.” Johnny immediately debunks Taeyong’s idea.

“How about virtually?”

“Like wire money to our accounts?” Kun proposes.

“Yeah, but not ours _ours_. Like a dummy account?”

“That could work. I’ve done it a handful of times. But, if we’re going to do that, we’re gonna need a really strong firewall to prevent backtracking.”

“Wasn’t that Hendery’s job back at HQ?”

“It was, but he was still assisted by boss Kyungsoo from time to time.”

“Then we’ll start small to give him some experience. And when he’s good enough, we’ll work our way up.”

“Okay then. I’ll have Dejun do some phishing so we can at least get some bank account details.”

“Alright, that’s one thing. What else can we do?” Johnny asks again.

“Drugs.” Doyoung mentions nonchalantly. “Leave that to me. I know a drug lab in Mapo – gu where we can source it from.”

“Ah, I forgot boss Baekhyun put you in charge of that, didn’t he?” Taeyong wonders out loud.

“Yeah, it’s a huge profit if we’re being honest.”

“Okay, what else? We need a lot of funds if we’re going to pull this off.”

“Maybe we can put the Dreamies in action like they used to?” Johnny suggests.

“It’s a little risky now. Chanyeol’s men could be lurking anywhere.” Kun counters.

“Buying and selling of weapons, anyone?” Yuta interrupts the group. “I mean, it’ll be a long shot, but it’s worth it in the long run.”

“But where are we going to source it from? We can’t have the same suppliers as Chanyeol.” Taeyong reasons.

“Hmm, I’ll ask around. But that could be an option.”

“How about we let Jungwoo hyung go on assassination missions?” Yangyang proposes.

“Are we really putting Jungwoo in action? He’s only fifteen though.” Johnny looks at the group uneasily.

“Well, he’ll have to start sooner or later.” Yuta interposes.

“Someone has to at least go with him for the first few times to make sure he doesn’t make a mistake.” Taeyong adds.

“So that’s it? Steal money virtually, sell drugs, assassinations, and weapon dealings are what we’re going to do now?” Kun summarizes.

“For now.” Taeyong interjects. “After a while let’s talk again to come up with a long-term plan.”

“Okay! Meeting adjourned!” Yangyang announces.

Later that night, Taeyong gathers the other kids to brief them on what their next move is going to be; move out, go to work, save up, start their own mafia, and start up their own company. _That seems simple enough,_ Haechan comments, _nothing is ever easy as it seems, Haechan – ah,_ Renjun scolds him. Taeyong tells them that it’s not going to be easy, but they’ll have to pull through if they want to make it out alive. They’ve already gone a full year as a mafia member, what’s another twenty years or so?

They pack their stuff, (they have more stuff now, apparently) pile into a decommissioned van from Jumyeon’s mafia, and drive off to a sleazy inn for the night while Kun forges some documents so they can purchase an apartment of their own.

“Right, are we using our street name or our government names?” Kun asks as he taps away on his laptop.

“There ain’t no way I’m using Ryeo Jin Ho in our title deed.” Yuta spats.

“I agree, Dae Jung? The fuck kinda name is that?” Ten adds. “It has no personality.”

“Because Chittaphon has so much personality.” Dejun teases.

“And what’s wrong with that? I fucking owned that name for sixteen years only for the goddamn government to change my name to Muk Dae Jung! They couldn’t even give me a Thai name!”

“I feel your pain, Ten – ah.” Yuta consoles.

“Okay! We just need to print these out and we’re good to go!” Kun announces, looking up from his laptop.

“What’s that?” Ten asks as he peeks at Kun’s laptop.

“Fake IDs and passports. We’ll be using these for a while so don’t lose it!”

“Oh, man. That looks like the real deal!” Mark comments.

“It is. I stole the software from the MPAS (Ministry of Public Administration and Security). So, if we print this, they’re pretty much legit.” Kun mentions nonchalantly.

“As expected from our Kun – ge!”

“You know, all in a day’s work.” The older shrugs.

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, we just need to transfer all our money to a different bank account that’s not associated with boss Junmyeon’s mafia and then we can visit the apartment and make a purchase!” Ten summarizes their plan. “It ain’t so bad after all!”

“Wait till we start working again!” Dejun jokes. “It's gonna be a pain.”

“It won’t be much different from what we were already doing, it’s just that now, we’re doing it for ourselves and not for anybody else.”

“That’s true.” Mark agrees. “Now it’ll feel more meaningful.”

“Wait, don’t you think it’s time we think of a name for ourselves?” Ten voices out. “I mean, if we’re gonna start doing this on our own, people might get curious as to what mafia we belong to.”

“Hmm, how about Night Dwellers?” Mark suggests.

“Night Dwellers? What are we, twelve?” Ten laughs.

“Oh, oh, how about Black Birds? That’s sounds catchy!” Yuta proposes.

“Seriously, you guys! Do you all have eight grader syndrome or something? These sound like it came straight from a manga.”

“Yeah, and what about you? What do you suggest?”

“Me?” Ten acts as if he was thinking hard. “Hmm, I like the word _Neo_ a lot. You know, since it means something new, or different from the rest, which is kinda what we are.”

“Neo?” Both Mark and Yuta repeat.

“Neo! We can be like The Neos or something!”

“The Neos?” Dejun mimics Mark and Yuta’s tone from earlier.

“Neo!” Ten repeats for added effect. “So, what do you say?”

“I don’t know. Kun, what do you think?” Yuta looks at Kun.

“Well, it’s got a nice meaning to it. But shouldn’t we include the others in deciding our mafia name?”

“That is true though. Alright, let’s call the others!” Yuta stands up and volunteers into calling the others. Somehow, they managed to squeeze all twenty-one of them into the small room.

“So, why are we in a meeting?” Taeyong was the first to speak up.

“We thought it’d be high time that we decide on a name for ourselves.” Kun supplies.

“We have some suggestions, but feel free to add more!” Ten adds. “Okay, mine is The Neos! Neo meaning something new and different. Like something that’s never been done before, and I feel like this represents us in a lot of ways.”

“Okay, not bad. Anybody else?” Taeyong nods to acknowledge Ten’s suggestion.

“Night Dwellers.” Mark whispers.

“What?”

“Night Dwellers.” Mark speaks a little louder.

“What was that? Night Dwellers?” Johnny repeats. A handful of them laugh at the mention of the name.

“Ah, forget it! You’re all laughing!”

“Because it sounds so childish!” Lucas comments.

“It’s not childish! It sounds cool and edgy!” Mark defends.

“Okay, Kaido – kun.” Jungwoo teases. (Kaido from Saiki K)

“Forget I said anything!” Mark yells in exasperation.

“Okay, okay, anybody else?” Taeil interrupts to save Mark some face.

“Yuta hyung, tell them what you told us!” Dejun jokes.

“Very funny, Dejun – ah. No thanks. That was a joke!” Yuta defends himself.

Suprisingly, Jisung raises his hand. “Oh, what is it, Jisung – ah?” Doyoung encourages the younger.

“Oh, nothing. I was just gonna say I like Ten hyung’s suggestion.” Jisung sheepishly smile.

“See, I told you it’s a nice name!” Ten boasts. “It’s got a nice ring and a nice meaning to it.”

“Alright, alright!” Taeyong claps his hand once. “Shall we vote?” The group erupts in a chorus of okays. “All those in favor of The Neos raise your hand.” Everyone immediately raises their hand – all twenty-one of them.

“Night Dwellers?” Taeyong starts. Only Johnny, Taeyong, and Yuta raise their hands again. “Oh, come on you guys, you didn’t have to be that mean to Mark!” The group bursts out laughing at Taeyong’s remark. “So, that’s it, then? Ten wins with The Neos?”

“Yeaahhh!” Ten exclaims. “I told you guys I can be smart sometimes!”

“What do you mean sometimes? You managed to memorize the entire floor plan of the Blue House in a glance!” Johnny points out.

“That’s because it was a ride or die mission so of course I memorized it!”

“Okay, okay. Since we’re all here anyway, what’s our next step?” Taeil changes the subject.

“I’ve finished making us fake passports and IDs which we can use for the meantime. But use it sparingly since it has our street name on them. Sicheng and I will work on wiping our bank accounts that’s connected to the mafia and transfer it to our dummy account, so that’ll take us a while but hopefully it’ll be done by tomorrow morning. And then, hopefully we can buy the apartment tomorrow and move in the next day.”

“How many apartments are we buying?” Haechan interrupts Kun.

“Only one? I know we’re doing okay but not that okay to buy multiple apartments at once. We’ll still have to squeeze ourselves for the meantime.” Kun reasons.

“Ah, I was so ready to not have to share a room with Doyoung hyung!”

“You watch your mouth, Lee Haechan.” Doyoung warns.

“I’m sorry.” Haechan apologizes with his head hung low.

“Is there anything we can start doing tomorrow?” Lucas wonders out loud.

“It’s still a bit risky to do anything since boss Chanyeol’s men are still scattered around Seoul and if we get caught by them, we’re surely bound to be skinned alive. I say we do things digitally for now while we wait it out.” Dejun responds. “Me and Hendery can start hacking bank accounts to at least get started on something. Yangyang?” Dejun looks at Yangyang.

“Oh, I can sift through the black market to see if there’s any jobs available that I can do. Hopefully it pays a lot.”

“Okay, so practically, we’re all stuck at home until the coast is clear?” Renjun raises his hand.

“Sorta, yeah.” Taeyong nods in agreement.

“Okay! I can catch up on that k – drama I’ve been watching!”

“Alright, let’s settle in for the night ‘cause tomorrow we have a big day ahead! Good night everyone!” Johnny stands up from his spot and motions for everyone to leave except for the people sleeping in the room. “Night, night!”

“Goodnight, everyone!” Mark greets as he tucks himself in.

While everyone was busy fighting dragons in their dreams or just snoring away, Kun and Sicheng were busy tapping away on their laptops making sure there was no trace of transferring their funds from their old bank accounts into the new one. It’s a little risky, since Kyungsoo might notice the sudden depletion of their funds, but they reason it’s time they stand up for themselves. They’ll never forget the kindness that Junmyeon gave them and will forever hold it dear in their hearts.

“Kun – ge, what do you think boss Kyungsoo would feel when he finds out that we left? Do you think he’ll get mad?”

“Honestly, if I were him, I’d be more hurt than mad.” Kun starts. “But we have no choice. We have to follow boss Minseok’s order.”

“But do we really have to?”

“I mean, I, too don’t like the way boss Chanyeol handles the mafia; he’s all over the place and is too hot - headed.”

“All he cares about is money.” Sicheng complains.

“Right? What kind of leader does that? And the fact that he let Yuta go on a mission the day after he got discharged from the hospital? That’s messed up.”

“I was at my wit’s end that day! Like what if something happens to him?”

“Right? He’s not right in the head! No wonder boss Minseok hated his guts from the very beginning. I’m starting to wonder what boss Junmyeon saw in him that he made him the underboss.”

“He probably blackmailed boss Junmyeon or something.”

“Eh, we’ll never know and honestly I don’t want to. I have so many things to think about instead.”

“True, true!” Sicheng agrees. “Oh, it’s at fifty percent!” He mentions as he saw the progress bar. “Great!”

“Nice, now twenty other accounts to go!”

“Oh, man this is going to take forever! Whose dummy account is this anyway?”

“It’s Taeyong’s apparently. He said boss Junmyeon told him to make one just in case.”

“Are we sure we’re not raising suspicion when twenty-one accounts are transferring billions of won to one bank account in Switzerland?”

“Nah, mafias do it all the time!” Kun jokes.

“Not helping!”

“It’s not that bad. You have to remember the exchange rate; one swiss franc is like twelve hundred won.”

Oh, yeah, forgot about that. Anyway, has Taeyong hyung decided on what the company will be?”

“Company? Ah, the cover up one? Not yet, I think. I mean, it is too early to tell. I guess we’ll decide on that depending on the funds we accumulate. It doesn’t necessarily have to be big scale. Hell, we could open a tteokbokki stall and we still won’t raise suspicion.”

“Because we’re kids?”

“Does it have to do anything with us being kids? We could just say Taeil hyung’s taking over his parents’ business.”

“Ah, right, right. I just hope whatever we’re doing is right.”

“Has anything that we’ve been doing the past year is right? I think at his point it doesn’t matter if it seems socially wrong, I guess. As long as we don’t hurt anyone in the process, I think we’ll be fine.”

“Kun – ge, your moral compass isn’t working anymore.” Sicheng deadpans.

“Hey!” Kun smacks Sicheng’s arm lightly.

Much to Sicheng’s dismay, they finished transferring their funds around six am and could barely get a wink of sleep before Yuta started making a ruckus at how restless Ten slept last night that it resulted in the younger punching him the face and him earning a bruise. To make things worse, Ten didn’t apologize and Yuta just yelled some more to voice his anger.

“I never want to room with these people.” He mutters as he tries to block the noise with his pillow. “I want Renjun and Chenle back.”

Later in the day, Taeil and Johnny visited the apartment complex they were planning to buy from and did some scouting to see what kind of apartment suited them. Clearly, the number of rooms is important, the more rooms the better. Secondly, the living area would have to be a bit bigger since the Dreamies were getting bigger as well. Gone are the days when you could squish Jisung, Chenle, and Jaemin in one armchair. Price isn’t an issue anymore since they had a lot of those now.

“Hm, I’m thinking the highest floor would be the best for us.” Johnny tells the realtor. “It’ll be quite similar to our old one and besides, who doesn’t want a nice view of the city?”

“Ah, we have one available! It’s a two-story apartment though.”

“Even better! Lead the way!” Taeil exclaims.

When they got the apartment, Johnny and Taeil couldn’t help but gawk at the size of it. “This one has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen on each floor, and there’s a maid room too which you can convert to bedroom as well.”

“Oh, wow! This is huge! There’s a balcony, too!” Johnny almost yelled in excitement.

“Ah, yes! The master’s has their own terrace as well!” The realtor states.

“Well, I know which room Yuta’s picking.”

“Not if Jisung’s hands has anything to do with it.” Taeil counters.

“Oh, yeah.” Johnny laughs a little.

“So, if you want to purchase this apartment, we can head downstairs to the office and finalize some paper works and you’re good to go!”

“When can we move in?” Johnny asks swiftly.

“Once the bank clears the payment, you’re ready to move in!”

“Okay!”

At the office, both Taeil and Johnny were waiting for their title deed to be finalized when suddenly the sales supervisor approached them. “Excuse me?” the sales supervisor grabs both of their attention. “Hi, my name’s Kim Mingyu. I’m the sales supervisor. I’d just like to ask a few questions regarding both of you.”

“What kind of questions?” Taeil was the first to respond.

“Just some background info regarding our buyers. It’s part of our S.O.P.” Mingyu casually mentions.

“Alright.” Taeil looks at Johnny, as if giving him a signal to be wary.

“First, we’d want to know the reason for your purchase.”

“Ah, well you see, me and Johnny grew up in an orphanage and when we both reached eighteen, we both worked three jobs just to make ends meet. Then, after two years, we decided to go back to the orphanage and adopt the other orphans to give them a chance at a normal life. We saved up quite an amount, and now we’re ready to invest in a new apartment to accommodate our fellow orphans.”

“Then where did you live before this, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Back in Silim – dong. It was fine the first couple years, but later on the space just became too crowded so we decided to buy a bigger one.”

“That’s very kind of you both, I hope more people are like you.”

“Well, we know the hardships of growing up in an orphanage, so we didn’t want anybody else to go through what we went through.”

“Then, may I ask how many are living in the apartment?”

“Twenty-one. Though seven of those are practically adults now.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of kids! Then, I’ll let the realtor do the rest. I’m sure my questions can be answered by looking at the initial profile you gave him earlier. Thank you for your time.”

“It’s no problem.” Taeil waves his hand as if to dismiss the conversation.

“What was that about?” Johnny mutters as soon as Mingyu was out of earshot.

“Beats me. Guess he was curious as to why two _adults_ were buying an apartment in cash.”

“Wait, we’re adults now?”

“Yeah.” Taeil laughs a little. “Kun wrote twenty-five in my ID!”

“Oh man, I wonder what he wrote in mine. I didn’t get to see!”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. The financial statement should be enough proof that we’re not scammers and that we’re legit buyers.”

“True though. Kun did a great job.”

“Alrighty!” Their realtor comes back with some documents in his hand. He sits back down on his chair and hands the papers to Taeil and Johnny. “I just need both of your signatures here and here and we’re good to go!”

“Okay!” Johnny answers enthusiastically.

“The bank said the payment will be cleared after three working days. And after that you can move in!”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you for letting Hannam The Hill be your new home!”

After three days, The Neos move into their new home. The Dreamies couldn’t help but gawk at their new place – it was bigger than their last one.

“I can’t believe we live here now!” Yangyang exclaims. “It’s like every time we move, we move into a bigger place than the last!”

“I know right? Honestly, if we keep this up, we’d be able to live in a mansion in two years’ time!” Hendery adds.

“Look at this view!” Lucas gapes at the giant windows overseeing Han River.

“Don’t be too excited, I heard the neighbors mention that every once in a while, they see the police at the riverbank trying to pull up a dead body.” Johnny mentions nonchalantly.

“They what?” Yangyang, Dejun, and Lucas shrieked at the same time.

“But it’s not that bad! They usually do it in the morning so less people can see them.”

“That’s not helping, hyung.” Dejun cries.

“Okay! It’s time to decide roommates again!” Haechan announces.

“Can’t we just stick to our old roommates?” Sicheng pleads.

“And where’s the fun in that?”

“I slept in the same room as Yuta hyung and Ten hyung for three nights and honestly that was a lot worse than my time in the facility.”

“Hey!” Ten calls out.

“I’m hurt, Winko – san.” Yuta pouts.

“I don’t care. I want Renjun and Chenle back. Kun – ge, too. And while it pains me to say this, Lucas too.”

“Oh, hey! What’s up, roommie?” Lucas jokes.

“Never play with my DS ever again.” Yuta threatens.

“I’m honestly okay with it.” Sicheng just shrugs and walks away leaving Yuta with his mouth agape.

“Sicheng!”

After a while, all twenty – one of them gather at the empty living room. “Sicheng hyung said we should just stick to our old roommates.” Haechan mentions.

“I second that. We’re already used to one another. It’ll be a hassle to have to live with somebody new again.” Renjun adds.

“You guys!” Johnny starts. “It’s a brand new chapter of our lives! Don’t you want to shake it up a little bit?”

“No, thank you.” Sicheng shuts down Johnny’s enthusiasm.

“Okay, okay. Since Sicheng doesn’t like it so much, then let’s just stick to our old roommates.” Taeyong decides.

“Yeah, I realized if we put all the kids in one room again, they might set the apartment on fire _again_.” Taeil points out.

“Hey, we’re not that disastrous!” Jaemin and Jeno say at the same time. All of the older hyungs laugh at their silly antic.

“Well, since roommates are settled with, let’s unpack and eat dinner afterwards!” Taeyong dismisses the conversation. Everyone replies a chorus of ‘yes’ before scrambling to unpack.

About four hours later, most of their belongings have been unpacked and most of them were already complaining to be tired and worn out in to which Doyoung suggest that they take a short break before returning to work. Somehow, they all managed to huddle at the living room which contained a couch now.

“So, I was thinking, since we’ll be keeping a down low for a while, we could wear masks when we go outside and do our stuff.” Mark proposes.

“For the most part, that’s okay. But wearing a mask while grocery shopping isn’t.” Jungwoo counters.

“Well yeah, of course. What I meant was that when we go to work.”

“Oh yeah we definitely should.” Jungwoo agrees.

“Especially you, since you’ll be the most active one out of all of us.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jungwoo replies unenthusiastically.

“Cheer up, Jungwoo – ah!” Ten cheers for the younger. “Once we get rid of Chanyeol, we won’t have to hide anymore, and everyone can actively participate!”

“Wait, we’re getting rid of boss Chanyeol?” Jeno sits up in surprise.

“That was… a plan of mine… for a…while now.” Ten confesses.

“Let’s give it a few years before we start talking about that, Ten – ah. Let’s let him enjoy his reign for a while longer.” Taeil adds.

“Wait, are you guys serious?” Taeyong looks between Taeil and Ten, confused.

“You gotta admit, he was a dick even before he became the head of the family.” Taeil blurts out.

“Oh, dude, tell me about it.” Johnny agrees.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that boss Junmyeon treated him as a brother, I would have choked him to death the moment I saw him.” Doyoung mentions.

“Hey now, he’s probably tripping every three seconds with the way we talk about him.” Renjun jokes.

“Good for him!” Doyoung taunts. “I hope he trips and falls off the stairs!”

“Okay, that’s enough shit talking everyone. Let’s get back to work!” Taeyong claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. “These boxes aren’t going to unpack themselves.”

“Right, okay!” Renjun replies as everyone stands up and scatter around the apartment.

Later that night, Taeyong couldn’t fall asleep no matter how much he tosses and turns around in bed. As a resolution, he gives up and heads for the balcony. He sits down at one of the sunbeds and inhales the night air. After a while, he hears the glass doors opening and footsteps coming near.

“Can’t sleep?” It was Doyoung.

“No. You?”

“Well I was about to fall asleep, until I couldn’t feel you next to me so I figured you couldn’t sleep.”

Taeyong chuckles at Doyoung’s observation. “Ah, I’m sorry for making you worry. It’s just that it’s a new place so it’ll take a while for me to get used to it.”

“You’ve always been like this.” Doyoung takes a seat next to Taeyong. “I remember you couldn’t sleep as well during our first night at the container back in Busan.”

“You still remember that?”

“Of course. I remember it clearly because that’s when I thought my life was about to fall apart. But, I later proved myself wrong.”

“It’s just slightly falling apart?” Taeyong jokes.

“No.” Doyoung lies down on the sunbed, Taeyong follow suit. “I later realized that I just needed a group of people to share a traumatic experience with me for me to open up to people.”

“That’s… kinda dark, Doyoung – ah.” Taeyong spares Doyoung a glance.

“Oh, what the hell. We’re all messed up anyway.”

“That’s true!” Taeyong agrees with a smile.

“By the way, hyung,” Doyoung starts. “I know we’ve talked about this countless times now, but what’s our next step? Like I know we’ll let Kun take over for a while, but what comes after that?”

“Hmm.” Taeyong thinks for a long while. “I’m thinking we could establish a company for all of us. I know being a mafia member seems fun and all, but from all the shit we’ve been through the past year, I don’t want that to be our end game.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want us to live a normal life. I feel like we deserve that.”

“So, become normal salarymen after all this?”

“Why not? We were bound to be like that even if the school shooting didn’t happen.”

“We’re doing that now? Now that I kinda like being in a mafia?”

“I didn’t mean like in the next couple months! I meant sometime after we deemed it safe. I still want to catch the bastards who robbed us of a normal life.”

“Okay, I agree with you on that one.”

“Thank you, Doyoung – ah. Thank you for believing in me.”

“All of sudden?” Doyoung looks at him as if he grew ten heads.

“I don’t know how to explain it. But I just feel grateful suddenly. Like thank you for sticking with me all this time. Not just you, to all of you. I don’t know why I somehow became the mom of everyone.” Taeyong laughs a little at his last remark.

“It’s because you were born a natural leader, hyung. That’s why everyone just sort of appointed you with that role. Of course, Kun is also a major decision maker within us, but he consults with you from time to time just to make sure.”

“And here I thought Taeil hyung was the leader.”

“Taeil hyung, ah, how do I put this? Since he’s the eldest, everyone just goes to him unconsciously for just about anything. But most of the time he’s very indecisive with things and plays a lot with the Dreamies, you get what I mean?” Doyoung glances at Taeyong. “He doesn’t want to take responsibility when things go south hence why he always points at you when it’s time to decide on things.”

“Really? I didn’t notice that.”

“Yeah, he does that a lot.” Doyoung jokes. “Then there’s Johnny hyung. Johnny hyung is somewhat the same, but he just avoids deciding things altogether. But I know you regard of him as your equal… Yuta hyung… well, Yuta hyung is a hyung, but I don’t think he really sees himself as an adult just yet. But he’s very reliable and a lot of us go to him for comfort. What I mean is, I think the reason why everyone thought of you as our leader is because you were the one who suggested that we run away in the first place. I think from then on everyone just assumed that you would lead them forever.”

“But that was just my crazy idea. I didn’t really think anyone would agree to it.”

“Then that means you read everyone’s mind perfectly if we all agreed to it.”

“Huh. I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Aish, hyung! Stop thinking so small of yourself! You sacrificed a lot for us. You also took a chance with boss Junmyeon even though we were all against it in the beginning. And look where that led us!”

“Hiding from his underboss?”

“Can you be serious for just one moment?” Doyoung snaps.

“I’m sorry, Doyoung – ah. But you’re right. Thank you for your words. I’ll keep them in mind.”

There was a silent pause between them, just the two staring at the night sky. “I think I’m ready to go to bed.” Taeyong mentions as he sits up.

“Okay, I’m coming with you.” Doyoung sits up as well.

Taeyong and Doyoung head back inside their room and get comfortable in their shared bed.

“Goodnight, hyung.”

“Goodnight, Doyoung – ah.”

Morning came and Yangyang and Jaemin were up bright and early and already causing a ruckus on the second-floor kitchen.

“I told you, cereal goes first before the milk!” Jaemin explains.

“No! Milk goes first because if cereal goes first, you’re left with little milk!” Yangyang counters.

“Are you hearing yourself right now? Cereal goes first then milk!”

“Will you two please just shut up?!” Jeno interrupts the two. “It’s seven am and you’re both arguing over cereal and milk like the rest of us aren’t asleep!”

“Yangyang started it!”

“Jaemin started it!”

Both Yangyang and Jaemin say at the same time.

“You’re both hopeless.” Jeno walks towards the fridge and grabs a sandwich wrapped in cling plastic.

“Is that yours?” Jaemin asks Jeno.

“Yeah? I made it last night.”

“Oh, really? I saw Hendery hyung eat one of those last night.”

“He what? No wonder one is missing!”

“Ah, Jeno – ah. You’ve been living with us for a year now and you still don’t know that even if you write your name on your food, it’s still bound to be eaten by somebody else.” Yangyang reasons.

“Nah, you guys are just mean and have no sense of personal space.” Jeno spits back as he takes a bit of his sandwich.

“I feel like I should be offended but I’m not.”

“Be offended, then.” Jeno says before leaving the kitchen.

Later that day, Taeyong calls the rest The Neos for a meeting.

tae_dragon: is everyone home? Living room now.

bunny.doie: whats this about

tae_dragon: just some stuff

sheepx2: ok ok omw

bunny.nana: dejun hyung is still asleep

winwinner: drag him

je_no: gladly

“Is everyone here?” Taeyong asks as he starts to count the people in the living room. Once he’s counted to twenty, he continues. “So, I’ve been doing some homework the past couple days.”

“What the hell? You’re in school?” Yuta gasps.

“What? No! I’ve been doing some digging! There, happy?”

“Okay, continue.” Yuta teases as he claps lightly.

“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," He side eyes Yuta. "I know we now consider ourselves a mafia of our own, as little as our numbers might be, but I think it’s time we decide our roles within the mafia?”

“That’s obvious. You’re the leader.” Yuta nonchalantly states. “Johnny is the underboss. Taeil hyung is our advisor since he’s the eldest, just like boss Minseok.”

“What? No, no. Why am I the leader?”

“Why don’t you want to be our leader, hyung?” Jeno speaks up. “You were already a capo before we left boss Junmyeon’s mafia. You already know how it works.”

“But, I mean, is everyone okay with this?”

“Have you already forgotten what we talked about last night, hyung?” Doyoung mentions.

“No, not really. It’s just that, I want everyone to be okay with this. This is a huge decision.”

“Well, I obviously can’t lead, so I’m fine with second in command. Taeil hyung wants to avoid responsibilities as much as possible so where do we go from here?” Johnny adds.

“Are you sure? Does everyone agree?”

“Yeah, hyung! You were bound to be our leader, anyway!” Chenle encourages.

“I agree, hyung!” Jisung states as well.

“Anyone?”

“Stop looking for a negative answer! It’s not going to work!” Dejun jokes.

“Okay, if you guys say so! Then, I’m honored to be your leader!”

“Okay, Taeil hyung?” Doyoung looks at Taeil.

“Hey, as long as I don’t get to call the shots, I’m fine with wherever you guys put me.”

“Then it’s settled!”

“And capos? We gotta have capos!” Mark chimes in.

“Definitely Kun hyung!” Lucas adds.

“How about Yuta hyung? He’s the fourth eldest.” Ten suggests.

“Hey, now.” Yuta shakes his head.

“It’ll be fun, hyung! You get to boss everyone around!”

“That’s Taeyong’s job!”

“You do, too!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“Okay, then.” Yuta shyly smiles as he looks down. Everyone looks at each other in disbelief. They can’t believe that’s all it took to convince Yuta.

“Let’s have Mark hyung as a capo too and he’ll be the leader of the Dreamies!” Haechan proposes.

“Haechan!” Mark shushes him up.

“Wait, that’s actually not a bad idea. Someone needs to order Lucas around.” Hendery comments.

“Hey!” Lucas yells.

“Hm, the Dreamies? But Yangyang works with Kun the most.” Taeyong reasons. “It’d be a hassle to separate him with Kun. Jungwoo too since he gets all his intel from Kun.”

“Should we divide ourselves into groups now? Now that everyone’s here and all.” Johnny explains. The group erupts in a chorus of agreement and Johnny continues. “Okay, Yuta’s squad. Who will be in it?”

“Obviously the one that’s not working with Kun. So that’s me. Jaehyun, Lucas, and Ten.” Doyoung states. “Then Kun’s squad will have Sicheng, Dejun, Hendery, Yangyang, and Jungwoo since like you said, Jungwoo works with Kun the most. Mark’s squad will have the rest of the Dreamies – that includes Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung.”

“And names? We gotta have names! Super cool ones! Like Elyxion and Exordium!” Lucas mentions enthusiastically.

“We’re not stealing boss Junmyeon’s names! We’ll think of our own! Ten - ge?” Sicheng looks at Ten.

“Oh, me? Hmm.” Ten pauses for a while. “How about Superhuman squad for Yuta hyung’s squad? Since Yuta hyung's a superhuman himself because he survived a plane crash?”

“Wait, that’s kinda funny! But I like it! We’ll stick to that!” Yuta gives Ten a thumbs up.

“Okay, okay! How about Moonwalkers for Kun hyung’s squad? Since it’s science related and all.”

“Not fair! Yuta had a funny meaning to his, why is mine so boring?” Kun pouts.

“It’s not boring! It sounds cool because it makes you sound like you’re astronauts!”

“Okay, fine.” Kun pouts some more but smiles afterwards.

“And Mark’s?” Haechan looks at Ten.

“Well, let’s not use the ‘Dreamies’ since it’s very meaningful to everyone.” Ten starts off. “How about Fireflies? You know, little bugs but can light up the night sky.”

“Sold!” Jeno exclaims a little too loudly which causes the hyungs to laugh at his silly antic.

“Well, Jeno likes it, so I’ll take it!” Mark smiles. “Thank you, hyung.”

“Okay, now that’s out of the way, this is also a good opportunity for us to decide what cover up company we’re doing so we can start working towards that.”

“Hm, that’s a good idea. It’ll give us time to prepare.” Taeil responds.

“Oh! I have an idea!” Chenle raises his hand.

“What is it, Chenle - ah?” Johnny encourages Chenle.

“How about a samgyupsal restaurant?”

“Well, does anybody know how to cook?” Johnny looks at Kun, Doyoung, and Taeyong, all three of them nod their head in disagreement. “That’s kinda hard, Chenle – ah since sanitary permits are hard to get and Taeil hyung is the only adult in us.”

“Oh, that’s fine. It was only a suggestion.” Chenle pouts.

“But we’ll keep that in mind!” Chenle smiles at this. “You never know in the future, right?”

“Okay! I’ll wait for that!”

“What else?”

“How about a department store?” Ten interjects.

“Are you serious? Do you know how hard that is?” Kun counters.

“That’s why it was only a suggestion! Aish, Kunnie!”

“Very funny, Chittaphon.” Kun deadpans.

“How about an IT company?” Jaehyun speaks up. “I’m sure we can manage since we have Kun hyung here.”

“Hey, that’s not actually a bad idea. Kun?” Taeyong turns to Kun.

“Well, that’s doable. With the funds we have right now, I say go for it.”

“Yay!” Jaehyun smiles, cheeks bunched up.

“We’ll start small, of course. We could do a pc room with five units for now, and then we’ll gradually include retail of computer parts, and then maybe computer repair.” Kun continues.

“Okay, how about location?” Johnny asks.

“Definitely Hongdae. That place is brimming with kids. It’ll definitely click.”

“Okay, how about a name?”

“How about _Neo Culture Technology_?” Ten speaks out.

“Ah, there you go again with your awesome names.” Taeyong compliments him. “Care to explain what it means?”

“Well, Neo is of course, our name. Culture comes from the place we’ll be establishing the place. If we’re gonna go with Hongdae, then it fits right in since Hongdae has been a cultural hotspot for locals and foreigners for a long time. It’s filled with a lot of things, you name it. Then Technology is because it’s IT related? But if you put it together the meaning changes a lot. Neo Culture Technology means creating a brand new culture or bond through different cultures. Like us, we’re all from different parts of the globe, but we found a family within us.”

“Wow.” Doyoung exclaims.

“Ten hyung that’s amazing!” Yangyang cheers from beside him.

“It has a lot of adult words, but I like how it sounds!” Jisung joked.

“Thanks, I try.”

“Does anyone wanna beat that?” Taeyong looks around.

“Nope.” Yuta finishes the conversation quickly so no one can contradict.

“Okay, then it’s settled. _NCT_ it is.”

The next couple months go by somewhat slow since most of them stayed at home and only a handful of them get to leave the apartment. Taeyong has started to gather information on how to start up a company, despite how futile it was since everyone saw him as a delusional eighteen-year-old dreaming of starting his own company. Kun had moved out from his shared room with Chenle, Renjun, Lucas, and Sicheng and moved into the maid’s room at the back of the apartment saying that he needed his own space since he works all night and doesn’t want to keep his roommates awake. He, together with Sicheng, Dejun, and Hendery have been busy hacking bank accounts from around the world and transferring them to their dummy accounts. Yangyang has also been able to close deals on the black market, mostly hacking the dark web and gaining a profit from his clients. Jungwoo has been going on a few assassination missions from time to time under the supervision of Johnny. Doyoung and Haechan had managed to secure a deal with the drug lab Doyoung talked about a few weeks ago in Mapo – gu. Johnny and Ten are then tasked with delivering the package to their customers. Yuta, who volunteered on weapon dealings struck gold when he found a Japanese arms dealer at the heart of Songpa – gu that was hidden underneath the glitz and the glamour of the district.

tae_dragon: guys

yutakoyaki: this better be important im in an important meeting

taeil_moon: I can hear you grunting in the bathroom from all the way in the living room

jaejaemochi: gross

bighead1: yuta hyung pls open the window after ur done

swoopy: as if he’ll remember doing that

watermelion: lmao

xuxiking: lmao

tae_dragon: AS I WAS SAYING

yutakoyaki: oh right important stuff ok ok

johnnyjsuh: yuta Is2g

yutakoyaki: what?

taeil_moon: can we kick yuta out of this gc

_johnnyjsuh has kicked yutakoyaki out of the group chat_

tae_dragon: wth johnny put him back

taeil_moon: ah peace and quiet

fullsun: rip in pieces yuta hyung

breadcheeks: may he find the one true takoyaki meant for him

_tae_dragon has invited yutakoyaki in the group chat_

yutakoyaki: and when I finish my business and annihilate you all

10lee: wow that’s a big word coming from you

kunfused: *apply cold compress to burned area*

_yutakoyaki has left the chat_

johnnyjsuh: hey now that aint on me anymore

tae_dragon: CAN WE BE SERIOUS FOR JUST ONE MINUTE I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY

bunny.doie: then just say it?

tae_dragon: thank you doyoung – ah for listening to me you’re the only true friend I have

johnnyjsuh: HEY I WAS YOUR FRIEND FIRST

tae_dragon: not anymore doyoung is now my best friend because he listens to me

johnnyjsuh: you better watch your back doyoung

bunny.doie: okay?

jaejaemochi: it’s okay johnny hyung you still have me

johnnyjsuh: im revoking your best friend card and making jaehyun my one true best friend

tae_dragon: ok

kunfused: *apply cold compress to burned area*

johnnyjsuh: KUN YOU’RE NOT HELPING

_tae_dragon has invited yutakoyaki in the chat_

yutakoyaki: wth tae I was sulking

tae_dragon: enough sulking I have SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY

tae_dragon: I talked to a consultant this morning and they said if we want to start up our own company, we have to wait until taeil hyung turns 20

taeil_moon: so we can’t do it this year?

tae_dragon: under the eyes of the law you’re still a minor

taeil_moon: that’s bullshit, and they know it. I’ve done more crime in the past year than they have in twenty

johnnyjsuh: tru tho

tae_dragon: but we have to comply if we want the company to be legit

johnnyjsuh: ok

taeil_moon: God I hate the government sometimes

“So now what?” Johnny speaks up from beside Taeyong.

“We earn some more and wait.” Taeyong explains.

“But I’m already itching to be called ‘Chief Executive Officer!’”

“Don’t set your dreams so high, Johnny – ah if you don’t want to be disappointed.” Taeil jokes.

“I’m not! I’m just tired of sitting at home and doing nothing. I mean, surely Chanyeol would have forgotten about us, right? It’s been a couple months since we left, and we haven’t heard from them yet.”

“We can’t be too relaxed.” Taeyong starts. “He literally could just be waiting for us to let our guard down and attack when we least expect it. That’s why I keep saying to be cautious of your surroundings especially when you’re alone.”

“We know. That’s why we’re stuck at home, right?” Taeil responds. “It’s why the Dreamies have almost turned this place upside down because they’re all bored.”

“They’ll get by. Just don’t turn off the wifi at night and they’ll be fine.”

“Absolutely not! Bedtime is still at eleven.” Taeil firmly states.

“Okay, but seriously, can’t we let Sicheng do some surveillance to see if Chanyeol is even looking for us?” Johnny chimes in.

“Even if he wasn’t, what if he just grabs one of us when we’re outside?” Taeyong reasons.

“You’re always so pessimistic! Let’s just let everyone bring a gun!”

“Are you hearing yourself right now? The Dreamies are no older than fifteen and you’re okay with them holding a gun?”

“They did it with Junmyeon, why not with us?”

“They didn’t have a choice back then! Now they do! It’s why we left, remember? So, we can have a choice?”

“Okay, okay, sheesh! Calm down!”

“So, we just, as Yangyang says it, keep on grinding?” Taeil jokes.

“Please never say that word ever gain.” Johnny replies with a straight face.

By the following year, The Neos have made a name for themselves in the cyber world. Kun has been nicknamed “Brainiac” because of his genius and God – tier IT skills. And while Kun continues to make a name for himself, the rest of The Neos are hard at work in their respective fields. Lucas has made gambling a new hobby of his and surprisingly, he wins every time since apparently counting cards isn’t that hard at all. Renjun and Mark have started their online careers with Renjun catering to the _older audience_ and Mark voicing out his opinions through his videos. Jaehyun has also started utilizing his good looks into enticing young individuals into coercion. Then, his clients will pick whom they like and take the highway to heaven together.

Their bank account? You could say they just spent a million, but they’re still not satisfied. Those spending? Books, academic books to be specific. Taeil has decided to have everyone continue their education by going back to school – home school that is. While the Dreamies hated the idea, the older hyungs were excited about going back to school.

And while The Neos are working their way up the social ladder in the mafia world, they’re still relatively a small group to pose as a threat, even more for Chanyeol to notice them (should he had forgotten about them). At such, they’re free to roam around and explore some more. Why Chanyeol is still not after them they don’t know, but Taeyong assumes it has something to do with boss Minseok.

“Congratulations on your new company!” The clerk at the city hall exclaims as they hand Taeyong the business certificate of registration. “May your business prosper!”

“Thank you very much!”

Taeyong takes one last bow before exiting the hall and into the waiting car outside. “I can’t believe Taeil hyung chose to be sick out of all the days!” He complains to Johnny as they start the drive back home.

“Hey, at least now you’re the owner of NCT.”

“Correction, we own it together.”

“Ah, right, right.”

“So, what did the clerk say? Did they think suspiciously of you?”

“Aside from a nineteen-year-old starting their own business with a ten million won capital?”

“Well, did they ask how you got the money?” Johnny takes a quick glance at Taeyong before looking at the road again.

“Oh, definitely. I thought they saw right through the financial statement Kun and Taeil hyung made. I was ready to whip out the ‘my parents died and left me a lot of money’ story if it didn’t work.”

“To be fair, that has worked a couple of times.”

“I just don’t understand how they think that a young adult can’t have that much money! Why can’t they believe that we worked our asses off for this money?!”

“You know, boomers.”

“And they thought millennials were the problem.” Taeyong huffs as he looks outside the window. “But really, I can’t believe we did it. It’s here.” He caresses the folder in his hand. “We’re finally doing this.”

“I can’t believe it either. Now we just need to worry about the actual start up.”

“Oh, man. That’s gonna be a pain.”

“Kun said he’ll be the one to pick the computers. Ten and Yuta will handle the designs and the interior.”

“I should help them out. Maybe I’ll ask Renjun, too.”

“I’ll have Jaehyun set up an Instagram account for the place. He says he’ll handle the marketing side.”

“It’s just a tiny pc room, do we really need that?”

“Hey, once the place is big enough, marketing will be really crucial.”

“And the place? Have you heard from Doyoung?”

“Last I heard he’ll try to look around today after he settles some business at the drug lab.”

“Ah, I see. We’ll be so busy now.”

“Right? Now no one can complain that they’re not getting enough sleep. We have a business to run now!”

“I can already hear Chenle and Jisung grunting in disappointment.”

Six months later, business was booming and they have now expanded to a two floor office space with the first floor being a pc room and the upper floor being the retail and repair space that’s manned by Kun, Sicheng, Hendery, Dejun, and Yangyang. During the day, everyone in The Neos take their part in running the business and at night they continue their mafia ways. The drug dealings were at all time high as well since Doyoung managed to source them cheap, reselling was also cheap with just a small mark up. Yuta’s arms dealing is somewhat doing okay since most of his customers are Chanyeol’s men ready to strike a rebellion against their leader.

At the end of the year, profit was literally overflowing that they have decided to rent out an entire five story building just to accommodate the demand. The retail and repair space were situated at the first floor while the pc room was at the second. The third floor became a research lab for Kun and Sicheng; saying its time they make their own stuff instead of buying from the market. The fourth and fifth floor are now office space for The Neos, evidently becoming their HQ.

And now that the company is successful, they have now changed the ownership from a sole ownership to a corporation so that they can have board members and shareholders. Taeyong was appointed as the chairman, with Johnny becoming the vice chairman. Taeil, Yuta, Ten, Kun, and Doyoung are now board members while the rest are part timers for now since they can’t be hired yet due to their age.

During one breakfast, Doyoung was sifting through their financial report when Jisung mentioned something he admits he almost forgot about.

“Hyung, when do you think it’s okay for us to go back to Busan?”

“What?” He spits out the orange juice he was drinking. “Aish! There’s juice on the paper now!”

“I mean, we’re doing okay now, right? We have people that protect us now. I’m sure it’s okay for us to see our families again, right?”

“Well, you’re kinda right on that.” He starts as he tries to wipe the juice off the papers. “But we’ll see. Let’s ask Taeyong hyung about it. Why? Do you miss your parents now?”

“During the first two years since it happened, no, since we’re always so busy. But now that we have some free time, I guess I had more time to think about what’s happened and then I thought about my parents.”

“Ah, you’re not alone. I miss my family, too.”

“I just want to see them once. Just one day where we can go back to Busan to visit.”

“I’m sure we can ask Taeyong hyung about it, alright?”

“Okay, hyung. Thank you.”

“Now, finish your breakfast, alright? Your homeroom teacher will be here in ten minutes. Did you do your homework?”

“Yes, hyung!”

“Okay!”

Later at the office, Doyoung was busy reprinting his orange juice stained reports when Taeyong walks by his desk.

“You wanted to see me?” Taeyong greets.

“Wow, words fly fast.”

“The wifi is faster.”

“Right? Anyway, Jisung mentioned something earlier.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“He was wondering if we can go back to Busan for a day to see our families.”

“Oh.” Taeyong couldn’t speak after that.

“It’s been two years, has it? I’m pretty sure whoever those assholes were who ruined our lives have probably forgotten about us.”

“Well,” Taeyong starts to rub his neck worriedly. “we can’t be too sure, right? What if they’re just waiting for us – “

“Aish, hyung stop rambling! You’re worrying too much!”

“I’m just thinking of the possibilities!”

“And let me repeat myself; you worry too much.”

“Doyoung – ah!” Taeyong lets out in exasperation.

“Woooow! We’re going on a trip!” Jaemin exclaims as he examines their minibus.

“We’re going on trip!” Yangyang starts.

“In our favorite rocket ship!” Mark continues.

“Zooming through the sky,” Chenle sings.

“Little Einstein!” Jisung belts out.

“Climb aboard,” Hendery stands up and claps along to the beat.

“Get ready to explore!” Dejun continues.

There’s so much to find!” Renjun sings with a little flair.

“Little Einstein!” Lucas yells.

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown!” Haechan sings.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” The Dreamies sing.

“Everyone to rocket!” Now it was Jaemin who was singing.

“Rev it up now!” Jeno continues.

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR” The rest of the Dreamies sing again.

“Well, they’re pretty enthusiastic about going on a trip.” Kun comments.

“Let them have their fun. They’re probably excited to see their parents again.” Johnny remarks. “Besides, give them an hour and they’re all passed out.”

“That’s true though.”

“Is everyone settled, yet?” Taeil calls out as he situates himself in the driver’s seat of the bus.

“Yes!” Taeyong answers with enthusiasm.

“I thought you were against this?” Doyoung teases him.

“Me?” He points to himself for added effect. “Against seeing our families and upsetting the Dreamies? How could I?”

“You’re insufferable, hyung.”

“Alright! Buckle up, everyone! Safety first, safety second, and safety third!” Taeil announces as he sets the minibus in motion. And like on cue, after an hour on the road, most of the Dreamies were knocked out.

“Which one of them is snoring, though?” Jungwoo asks to no one in particular.

“I bet it’s Haechan.” Kun laughs a little.

“He’s so cute, oh my gosh.”

“Yah, yah, don’t squish his face or you’ll wake him up!” Kun scolds as Jungwoo was about to grab Haechan’s face.

“But he’s so cute!”

“He’s not cute when he’s awake though.” Jeno remarks. Both Taeyong and Yuta snort out laughing.

“Yah, stop being mean to him!” Johnny defends. “He’s cute either way!”

“Of course, you’ll defend him. Didn’t you adopt him as your child?” Ten taunts.

“And what’s wrong with that? He’s a great kid since he doesn’t hog all the blanket! Unlike some people!” Johnny side eyes Ten beside him.

“Is it my fault your twice as big as I am?”

“I am not!”

“Shut up both of you!” Taeil calls out to silence them both. “I can’t bear hearing Haechan’s voice when he’s awake!”

“Don’t be mean to him! He’s my pudu and I will go to the ends of the earth for him!” Johnny counters.

“Hyung, you don’t have to confess your undying love for him while he’s asleep you know!” Jaehyun teases.

“Ah, whatever!” Johnny waves his hand as if to dismiss the conversation.

The rest of the ride goes by rather quiet, with Johnny taking over the wheel halfway so Taeil can get some shut eye. Once they reach the borders of Busan, Johnny turns on the lights inside the bus to wake everyone up. “Everyone! Wakey wakey! We’re almost home! Well technically not everybody since I don’t live here.”

“I can smell the sea!” Jisung shrieks in excitement. “I don’t know if I want to visit the sea or my family first!”

“I’m just glad everyone can see their families again after a long time.” Taeyong mutters as he looks at everyone.

The first one they visit is Haechan and Jungwoo’s since their houses was on the outskirts of Busanjin – gu. “Are you ready?” Ten hypes Haechan up. “Are you nervous?”

“Sorta, yeah. Like what if my siblings don’t recognize me anymore?”

“Don’t be so negative! I’m sure they missed you a lot!”

“I just hope you’re right, hyung.” The younger pouts.

When they reached their street, the uneasy feeling inside him just won’t go away. He’s been trying to regulate his breathing since entering Busanjin – gu’s vicinity but his attempts are all futile.

“It’s okay, Lee Haechan. You can do this. If you can manage to disarm a nuclear bomb, you can do this!”

When Johnny pulls up at his house, the butterflies in his stomach grew ten times in size, almost eating his stomach completely.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Jungwoo offers.

“Please, hyung!” Haechan clings to Jungwoo’s arm.

“Okay, let’s go together!”

“Alright, let’s meet at Central Square tomorrow afternoon, okay?” Taeyong reminds them as Haechan and Jungwoo were about to hop off the minibus.

“Okay, hyung! See you tomorrow!” Jungwoo bids farewell as he and Haechan wave goodbye.

“Message us if you need help with anything!”

“Yes, hyung!” Haechan calls out.

The bus door closes with Johnny waving at them goodbye and they both face the gate to Haechan’s house. Once the bus starts driving away, Haechan could swear he was about to melt into a puddle on the floor.

“Don’t be nervous, okay? I’m right here. Hyung’s got you.” Jungwoo reassures him. The older then presses the doorbell once and waits for any sound to signify that someone was home. Alas, the creak of the wooden door opening welcomes them and a few hurried steps on the pavement before the metal gate opens right in front of them.

“Hae - haesoo?” Haechan stutters a bit upon mentioning his sister’s name in a long while.

“Haechan oppa? Is that really you? And Jungwoo oppa, too?” Haesoo was a few inches smaller than Haechan, so the image of her looking up and down to the two figures in front of her amuses them both.

“Hi, Haesoo! It’s been a while! Can we come in?” Jungwoo greets with a smile.

“O – of course! Please!” Haesoo steps aside and lets Haechan and Jungwoo inside the gate. “Mom is in the kitchen and Dad’s at work.”

“And Haesol?” Haechan looks at his sister. She’s so big now compared to the last time he saw her.

“He’s upstairs. We were doing homework.”

“Ah, we’re sorry to intrude.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you!”

When they finally reached the kitchen, Haechan clears his throat to get his mom’s attention.

“Aish, Haesol! Stop making that – “ Haechan mom’s scolds as she turns around. “Haechan?!”

“Hi, mom. Long time no see!” Her mom drops the ladle she was holding and sprints towards her son.

“How on earth? You’re alive! My son is alive!” She cups Haechan’s cheeks and starts smothering him with kisses. “Thank the heavens you’re alive! I can’t believe this! The police told us you died! I knew they were lying! I just knew it!”

“We know, they told us not to contact you for your safety as well.”

“That’s a load of crap! Your dad and I thought you were being used by the government!”

“Nah, we ran away from them and went to Seoul.”

“You were in Seoul all this time?”

“Yeah, all of us were. But like I said, we weren’t allowed to contact you guys.”

“We? Who’s we?”

“Mom, you met Jungwoo hyung before, right?” Haechan motions to Jungwoo on his side. “He was with me the whole time.”

“Hello, Haechan’s mom!” Jungwoo bows to greet.

“Oh my! You’re alive, too? But how? They said no one survived!”

“Well, that’s a lie. There were twenty-one of us who survived but the police hid us in a secret facility just outside of Busanjin – gu. But we managed to escape and fled to Seoul so they won’t find us.”

“But why go to Seoul? Why not come home?”

“They told us that our families might be targeted as well so we decided it was best that we stay away as far away as possible for the meantime.” Jungwoo explains. “We’re sorry if we made you worry.”

“And how did you both managed to survive for two years?”

“We all ran away together, all twenty-one of us. We managed to find some nice paying jobs to help us get by. We all live together so it wasn’t that hard. But we thought it was time to visit home.”

“Visit? You’re not staying?”

“Well, you see mom, our jobs need us back in Seoul by tomorrow night, so we can’t stay for good. We’re only here to visit.” Haechan interjects.

“You’re leaving again?”

“We’re sorry, mom. We’re only here to visit. But, on the bright side, we can communicate again! Let me give you my number!”

“Haechannie~, you’ve grown up so much.” His mom tackles him to a bear hug and smothers him with kisses again. “You’re a big boy now.”

“Aish, mom! Not infront of Jungwoo hyung and Haesoo!” He whines.

“Ah, Jungwoo – ah, it’s so nice to see you as well. You’ve grown up a lot, too! You’re so tall now! Why don’t you go visit your mom as well. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you again.”

“Of course, Haechan’s mom! Then, I’ll be off!” Jungwoo waves goodbye.

“Hyung! I’ll come visit you in a while!”

“Okay!” Jungwoo grins back as he exits their house.

“Haesoo – ah, why don’t you call your brother?”

“Okay!” Haesoo leaves the room and hurriedly skips upstairs to call her brother.

“Now, really, how are you doing in Seoul. Are you okay? Are you having nightmares of the incident?”

“I’m fine mom. I did at first, but Jungwoo hyung took care of me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Besides, as we already told you, we have jobs, so we’re all preoccupied with it and we all live together so it’s never lonely!”

“Where are the other kids who survived?”

“They’re here in Busan as well to visit their families. But don’t worry, there’s seven high schoolers who are with us, so they pretty much took care of us the whole time.”

“I must meet them one day.”

“Of course, mom. Of course.”

“Hyung!” A high-pitched voice echoed through the room and out appeared a younger version of Haechan. “Hyung! You’re home!” Haesol tackles his older brother to the ground with a bone crushing hug.

“I’ve missed you too, Haesol – ah!” Haechan remarks as he tries to breathe.

“Hyung!” His brother calls out again, but this time a little shaky.

“Don’t cry! Hyung’s not going anywhere!” He consoles.

“You’re really staying forever?”

“Well, not forever. I still have to return to Seoul tomorrow – “

“You live in Seoul now? Heol, hyung’s so cool now!”

“Well, yeah? Hyung’s a cool kid now!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, oppa.” Haesoo taunts.

“You three, stop bickering!” Their mom tries to break the fight.

“As I was saying, I’ll try to visit more often now. Sorry it took a while.”

“It’s okay, Haechan – ah. We know how hard it must have been for you. Who knew that would been the last time I’ll see in a long while?” His mom mentions. 

“I think we all thought of that. But that’s all in the past now. We’re all in a much better place now than we were two years ago.”

“I’m glad.” Her mom smiles. “Anyway, why don’t you rest for a bit and freshen up? I making some kimchi stew for dinner.”

“Oh yeah! Definitely, thanks mom!”

“Haesol, why don’t you take your brother upstairs to rest?”

“Okay, mom!”

Once he was lying down on his bed, the bed he swore he would never miss with how it creaks at the slightest movement, he fishes for his phone and opens their group chat.

fullsun: you guys 😭

je_no: don’t spoil I haven’t reached my house yet

fullsun: really? Is the traffic bad?

10lee: its much worse than 2 yrs ago

bunny.nana: and here I thought seoul had the worst traffic

watermelion: aish you guys just be happy you all get to go home!

fullsun: mark hyung, are you staying with doyoung hyung?

watermelion: oh yeah all of us foreign swaggers will stay with him

10lee: did u just say foreign swaggers

jaejaemochi: will I be counted? I lived in America for 4 yrs that’s why im here, man

taeil_moon: never talk to me ever again

jaejaemochi: ur just jelly I lived in conericot

jaejaemochi: Connecticut

cucumberprince: I want to laugh but I don’t want johnny hyung to kill me

winwinner: lmao jaehyun you should’ve listened more to teacher joo hyun before 😂

jaejaemochi: ur not invited to my birthday party

watermelion: oh hyung that’s okay everyone makes mistakes

fullsun: everyone has those days

breadcheeks: NOBODY’S PERFECT

bunny.doie: stop flooding this chat renjun is still asleep

je_no: @injeolmi

fullsun: @injeolmi

xuxiking: @injeolmi

bunny.nana: @injeolmi

kunfused: @injeolmi

tae_dragon: @injeolmi

sheepx2: should I just yell at him

bighead1: bet

bighead2: I don’t think this is a good idea

fullsun: bet

cucumberprince: do it and 1000 won is urs

sheepx2: deal

(Yangyang ended up with a red, giant handprint on his cheek after. Renjun was not happy, but at least he’s one thousand won richer. But despite this, Yangyang has decided not to mess with Renjun ever again for as long as he lives; at least not the extent where he’ll get slapped in the face again.)

Just before dinner, Haechan’s dad came home from work while he was still taking a shower. So, the sight of him waltzing into the kitchen area to grab a glass of water did not sit well with him. His dad almost fainted and had troubles breathing afterwards. “You’re alive? My Haechan is alive?” He exclaims as he tackles his son to a hug.

“Hi, dad! I’m home!” He murmurs to his dad’s chest.

“I knew you were alive! I didn’t lose hope!”

“I’m sorry it took a while. There’s still people after us so we had to make sure it was okay before we went back.”

“What do you mean there’s still people after you?” His dad lets go of the hug as he voices his concern.

“Well,” Haechan mentally slaps himself for slipping up. He is not about to tell his entire family that he has an entire mafia on his tail. “Those gunmen from the school shooting, we think they’re still after us and our families so we’re still hiding from them.”

“I can’t believe they still haven’t caught those bastards!”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. They’re good at hiding. But we’re okay now, right? I can come visit whenever I want now.”

“I guess you’re right.” He pats Haechan on the head. “Look at you, you’re so big now! And you grew taller!”

“Thank you, dad!”

“Alright, everyone, let’s sit down and eat! Food’s here!” His mom announces as he places the pot of food on the table. After settling down, they all exclaim a ‘thank you for the food!’ before munching down on his mom’s kimchi stew.

“I missed this.” He mutters as he savors the food.

“Hyung, you don’t have to cry while eating, you know.” Haesol teases.

“Oh, shush! Let Haechan oppa have his moment. He probably hadn’t had this in a long time.” Haesoo defends his older brother.

“I can’t believe our family is back together.” His mom mumbles as she stares at her family fondly.

“Ah, dear, didn’t we used to just dream about this a year ago? And now look who showed up on our front door.” His dad replies.

“Our little Haechannie came home.” She smiles.

Much later after dinner, Haechan decided to step outside for some fresh air and meet up with Jungwoo. He waited for the elder just in front of his house as he taps away from his phone. Soon, Jungwoo had come out as well.

“So, where to?”

“Let’s go back to school!”

“What? Are you crazy? It’s probably haunted by now!”

“Even better! Let’s go!”

Much to Jungwoo’s dismay, they arrived at their school but what they did not expect is the sight in front of them – clean walls and newly installed windows. They expected overgrown grass and blood-stained walls. They expected broken windows and pitch-black hallways, in short, they expected it to be abandoned, not back to normal.

“What in the? It’s back to normal?” Haechan spits out.

“I can’t believe there are people dumb enough to enroll in this school after what happened two years ago.” Jungwoo adds.

“It’s like whatever happened to us didn’t mean anything to them. Like it was all in day’s work!”

“So many our classmates died that day and they just swept it under the rug and opened the school again!”

“I knew something was up with that principal the minute I saw him during the opening ceremony.”

“Right? I thought so, too.”

“Ah, whatever.” Jungwoo waves his hand dismissively. “Past is past. I don’t wanna dwell on it any longer. It’s the new students’ misfortune anyways not mine.”

“You’re right. But I hope what happened to us doesn’t happen to them. I don’t want to see another sixth grader beg for food after running away from the witness protection facility.”

“If they can’t find those gunmen, what makes you think they can take care of kids?”

“Ah, you’re right, hyung.” Haechan laughs. “Let’s go, then?” He looks at Jungwoo.

“Where are we going again?”

“Let’s just go to a corner store and head home.”

“Okay! Race you there!” Jungwoo decides before dashing ahead.

“Hyung!” Haechan whines as he starts to run as well.

The next day, all of The Neos have gathered in Central Square to eat lunch and stroll for a little before they head back to Seoul.

“Hello, everyone!” Jaemin greets as he meets up with the rest.

“Oh, hey!” Renjun greets back.

“How’d it go with you guys? Did you get to talk to your families?”

“Yeah, but it was a little bothersome since the wifi was bad at Doyoung hyung’s house.”

“But at least you got to talk to them. How’d it go with Chenle?”

“Oh, him. He cried as soon as he saw his mom, then his mom started crying too.”

“So… they had a crying fest… together?”

“Kun hyung cried too.”

“Did you?”

“Me?” Renjun looks away from Jaemin, embarrassed. “Why would I cry?”

“So, you did cry!”

“Only because Chenle was crying a lot!” He defends himself.

“Aigoo, dear friend.” Jaemin wraps an arm around Renjun’s shoulder. “It’s okay to cry sometimes. It doesn’t mean that you’re weak.” He mentions as they start to walk away from the group.

Back to where the group was, some members were still conversing among themselves.

“Did you guys know the school is back again?” Mark asks around.

“Oh, yeah!” Haechan answers him. “We went there last night!”

“Wait, really? We did, too!”

“Yeah, it’s just kinda disappointing, you know? The whole time I thought it would be abandoned but when we got there, it wasn’t! It’s even the school festival tomorrow.”

“Business is business.” Doyoung butts in. “When it faces a setback, it’ll just have to start again.”

“Wow, way to cheer up Haechan, Doyoungie.” Ten taunts.

“I’m telling him the truth, so he doesn’t delude himself anymore!” He defends himself.

“You could’ve consoled him.”

“And that would make it worse. Just because a traumatic experience happened to you doesn’t mean that the entire world will stop and weep for you.”

“It’s okay, Ten hyung. Doyoung hyung is right.” Haechan tries to break the two. “I guess I did kind of expect a lot.”

“See?” Doyoung looks at Ten again. “When the cold reality hits you, you accept it and move on. It’ll be a lot more beneficial for you in the long run instead of pitying yourself.”

“Okay, okay!” Ten raises his hand in defense. “I was just pointing out that you could’ve said it in a nicer way.”

“You both know I’m fully incapable of doing that, right?” Both Ten and Haechan avoided eye contact with him. “So, you both forgot?”

“You’re not like that anymore, hyung.” Mark suddenly speaks up, breaking the tension within the three. “You’re all soft now!” He jokes. “But still sharp when you need to be.”

“Good character development.” Ten adds. Doyoung can’t help but smile at the words being directed at him.

“So, I improved?” He asks casually.

“Much, much better than the time we were still at the facility.” Mark mentions.

Their conversation was quickly interrupted when Taeil and Johnny have announced where they’ll be eating and quickly went on their way. They’ll be eating at a bibimbap restaurant on the first floor as per Chenle’s request. No one can separate Chenle and bibimbap anymore. When they got there, the hyungs immediately ordered their food as Jaehyun and Sicheng finds them a table. Since there were many of them, they were separated into three tables. While they were waiting for their food, Yangyang and Haechan decided to put on a little skit show for everyone’s amusement. When the food does arrive, Chenle couldn’t help but squeak in joy and all the hyungs found him adorable.

“Look at him eat his bibimbap!” Taeyong gawks. “I have to take a picture of this! Chenle – ah!” He calls for the younger’s attention. “Smile for me?” He instructs as he points the camera to Chenle. Chenle gives him an ear to ear grin with a spoonful or rice beside his face and Taeyong hurriedly snaps the picture before rice started to fall off the spoon. He examines the picture and smiles widely at the outcome. “Look,” He shows the screen to Chenle. “You look so cute!” Chenle smiles at himself, proud of how the picture came out.

“Please send it to my mom! She’s gonna love it!” The younger instructs.

“Of course!” Taeyong coos, already pulling up his chat box with Chenle’s mom.

Once lunch was over, they all decided to head back to their minibus since Yuta had a stomachache from eating too much. After few snide remarks from the Dreamies for leaving so early, and a few death glares from Taeil later, the bus was set in motion. This time, Kun is driving.

“Alright, kids. Vacation’s over! It’s time to work again.” Hendery announces.

“Ugh, it was so short, though!” Lucas whines.

“We can’t be gone for too long. We have a business to run and a mafia to manage.” Johnny chimes in,

“True, true. Besides, I kinda don’t like being here anymore because it just reminds me of what happened two years ago.” Taeyong confesses.

“Oh.” Was all Johnny could say.

“And our time in the container, too. It really feels like we were at the bottom.”

“But!” Yuta interrupts. “That made us closer, right? It made us want to strive harder!”

“I guess you’re right.” Taeyong smiles.

“Hey, now! Don’t be sad, okay? You got to see your parents, your sister, and Ruby, too! Why leave Busan on a bad note?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the mood.” He says embarrassingly.

“Cheer up, buttercup!” Yuta consoles him with a smile.

“Thank you, Yuta.” Yuta just smiles even bigger as a reply.

Once they got back to Seoul, it’s business as usual; by day they’re office workers and home schoolers and by the night they roam the streets causing trouble. It’s only been two years but for them it feels like they’ve been doing this forever.

But as Yangyang says, the city never sleeps and the grind never stops and before they know it, a year has already passed and Taeyong has found himself a brand new hobby. Since becoming the chairman for NCT, Co., he’s been devoting himself to his art and decided what better way to showcase it than establishing his own entertainment hub? And thus, _Neo Zone_ was born. A hideout for The Neos that’s disguised as a club. There, they’ll be able to invite their high-profile clients for some drinks and seal some deals.

And in the months that follow after Neo Zone’s establishment, it’s become a playground for the members both legally and illegally – Renjun’s studio for his videos and Chenle’s main stage to showcase his piano skills. It’s now the only place where you can cop Doyoung’s high end but fairly priced drugs, Lucas’ home court for his gambling, and Jaehyun’s vast supply of readily available one-night stands.

As NCT, Co. and Neo Zone grow in size and popularity, so do their bank accounts. At this time, they can fly to London and back just to shop and splurge, take an impromptu trip to Hawaii because it was cold one night, and dine at Le Cinq restaurant in France just to eat some caviar. Hendery has joked that they’re unstoppable and at the top of their game, but Dejun shuts him down and tells him to be humble.

_Flying through the sky, painting a picture in my head. We never lose, passing our limits, we do what we do._

__

Two more years into the game, Taeyong and Johnny, under the supervisory of Taeil, have decided to branch NCT, Co. to Shanghai and proudly passes the baton to Kun who will act as the Country Manager of NCT China, Co. while keeping his position as Chief Information Officer for the entirety of NCT, Co. Kun takes Sicheng, Chenle, Dejun, Hendery, and Lucas with him to Shanghai so that they can be closer to their families. They’ll still bounce back and forth from Shanghai to Seoul from time to time, but for the most part they’ll be staying in Shanghai.

The following year, Yuta decides to establish his own branch of NCT, Co. in Tokyo and takes Jeno and Jaemin with him. There, Yuta will have more access to a vast supply of weaponry and source it cheap before transporting it to Seoul to resell. And since ex - Yakuza members are rampant in his part of town, he’s hired the best of the best of them as his own personal security team, and even flying them out to Seoul and Shanghai for the other two branches’ security needs.

And with the expansion of two new branches established one year after the other, The Neos have started to recruit new members into their mafia. With this, a social hierarchy circle was imposed for a smooth implementation of commands. There are now three circles, or three chain of commands that exist within The Neos. Starting from the Inner Circle or The Higher ups, which consists of Taeyong, Johnny, Taeil, Yuta, Kun, and Mark. The Inner Circle is responsible for all the decision making of The Neos. The second is the Middle Circle or The Lieutenants, which is responsible for carrying out orders from the Inner Circle to the rest of the mafia. This consist of Doyoung, Jaehyun, Sicheng, Ten, Lucas, and Renjun. Third is the Outer Circle of The Executioners. Those included here are the soldiers from the first-class to the lowest ranks. The notable ones are Jungwoo, Dejun, Hendery, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, Chenle, and Jisung.

After testing out the waters in having three branches for a year, Johnny takes his own leap of faith and expands to Chicago the year after the Tokyo branch was founded. He takes Jaehyun, Ten, and Yangyang with him. Now with the existence of the Chicago branch, The Neos’ playing field multiplied to a thousand fold. They have now access to new types of drugs, weaponry, technology, young individuals, and a brand new set of high profile clients.

And as a final step in their worldwide domination, it was Taeyong who encourages Mark to branch out to Vancouver, cementing the fifth and final extension of the company. He takes with him Renjun and Haechan and the three set out into dominating their respective fields.

With five branches under their belt, each city is now recognized as a _Neo City_. This means that the city is now managed legally through NCT, Co. and illegally through the mafia by an original member of The Neos.

By this time, all the original members of The Neos are well into their teenage years and early adulthood and this sparks a new flame within them, one they couldn’t do before due to their early age – come out into the spotlight. It doesn’t matter now if their faces are seen, or if people know their name. Because who in their right mind would mess with a Neo? The Neos being one of the richest and most established mafia family to date, backed up with their multibillion-dollar corporation Neo Culture Technology, Co.

And Taeyong? The name Lee Taeyong alone strikes fear within his enemies. Gone are the days of cowering in fear of Chanyeol finding him. Who even cares what Chanyeol thinks anymore? The man has been long gone because of his own ruthless acts and the mafia crumbling soon after him.

**SHANGHAI, 9:28 AM CST, 10:28 AM KST**

“You’re late.” Comes Chenle’s irritated voice.

“It was only five minutes, stop being so demanding.” Jisung retorts. “Besides, it’s raining in Seoul when I left so it’s hard to fly.”

“Being late shouldn’t be a personality trait.”

“And being cranky shouldn’t be either yet here we are.”

“Yah!”

“Oh, just drop it! I’m here so we can spend some time together, right? Because you missed me.”

“I don’t miss you.”

“Sure, you don’t. It’s why you begged Sicheng hyung to make me come here.”

“I did not!”

“Happy birthday!”

“You’re insufferable.” Chenle deadpans.

“I’ll accept it since it’s your birthday. So, where to?”

“Since it’s my birthday, why not buy me a gift?”

“Lead the way, then.” Chenle rolls his eyes and leads Jisung to where his Bugatti Chiron is parked. “Let me guess, Kun hyung’s gift?” He taunts.

“Yeah.” Chenle smiles to himself.

“Can’t believe you passed your driver’s license.”

“And I can’t believe we’re friends either and yet here we are.” Chenle mimicks Jisung’s tone from earlier. They both enter the car and Chenle starts driving.

“Please don’t kill me. I have to attend a gala tomorrow with Taeil hyung.”

“Oh, really?” Chenle fully disregarding the first part of Jisung’s sentence. “Where?”

“Frankfurt. Apparently, there’s a newly developed weapon that’s really expensive and Yuta hyung wants it so bad.”

“Is it any good?”

“Guess so? I mean if Yuta hyung wants it that bad that he’s willing to steal it, I’m guessing it must be that valuable.”

“Oh, guess it is.”

“But I also heard that it’s only a prototype and is still in its final stages of testing, so I guess he’ll do the tinkering and finish it himself.”

“Ah, good luck then. I know galas aren’t really your thing.”

“Hey! The one in Cannes was an accident! How was I supposed to know he was the president’s son?”

“Usually they’re surrounded by guards or you know, the president himself.”

“No! We will not have this conversation again! Taeyong hyung grounded me for a month for that! I don’t want to remember it ever again!”

Chenle couldn’t help but laugh at his best friend’s misfortune. Who knew him accidentally knocking orange juice into the president’s son would be on international news? It was hilarious and Jisung became the talk of the town for a couple of days before the hype died down. Of course, since Jaehyun was the face of NCT, Co, he had to do all the press and damage control for Jisung. Since then, so many people had fallen head over heels for his adorable clumsiness.

“But at least you have fans now.”

“Enough, Chenle – ah. Please!” Jisung covers his face with his hands.

Chenle laughs some more before their conversation dies down after that and they drive the rest of the way in silence.

When they got to the mall, Chenle immediately drags Jisung to a store and picks a bunch of clothes that fit his liking. He dumps them into a basket and lets Jisung hold onto it.

“What do you think?” He holds out a pair of jeans.

“Too many holes.” Jisung comments. Chenle frowns and puts it back.

“What about this one?” He pulls out a distress ridden pair.

“Isn’t that the same as the last one?” Jisung scrunches his eyebrows together.

“This one is distressed, the other had puncture holes! Learn the difference!”

“Please just pick a normal looking one or else don’t ask me.”

“You’re so lame, Park Jisung.” Chenle comments before walking ahead. Jisung just rolls his eyes and follows Chenle regardless.

They circle the store a couple more times until Chenle is satisfied with the mountain of clothes that he picked. When they get to the counter, he notices that Jisung pulls out a different card, a card he’s never seen before.

“Where’d you get that?” He asks, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Oh, nowhere.”

“Tell me!” He nudges Jisung’s side.

“I got it as a birthday gift this year.”

“Who gifts debits card these days?”

“boss Junmyeon does.”

“What?” Chenle couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. He hasn’t heard that name in seven years.

“He gifted this to me right before he left. I only received it now.”

“How?”

“Ah, it’s a secret. I promised him I won’t tell anyone, even you.”

“Fine. You’ll tell me eventually anyway.”

“Right.” Jisung just smiles and hands the card to the cashier.

_Beep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a trailer for this fic but the qaulity isn't that great so please bear with me :( Editing isn't really my forte
> 
> I also think this is worth noting. 
> 
> street name = name they used while under Junmyeon’s mafia. Different from their real names.  
> government name = the names the government assigned to them upon entering the witness protection program.
> 
> they didn't use their real names until the establishment of NCT, Co. So prior to that, they used their street name.


	4. Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am the absolute boss that you want. If you want me take me, it’s your choice.  
> I’ve been desiring to meet eyes with you.  
> That’s what I need, you know me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will be character descriptions of The Neos. So if you're ever curious about what they do or get confused about a certain character, feel free to look back here.

**BOSS**

The Big Three responsible for The Neos being the ruler of the night and the billion-dollar company called Neo Culture Technology, Co.

**Lee Tae Yong, 27**

Seoul

Head of the Family

Part of the Inner Circle

Chairman of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Owner and Manager of Neo Zone

Tae Kwon Do Black Belter

“The Leader”

It was Taeyong’s idea that they run away, it was Taeyong’s idea that they take a risk with Junmyeon, and it was Taeyong’s idea that they stand on their own two feet. He started The Neos, he established NCT. He’s the big boss who calls the shot, and everyone quivers in fear at the sound of his boot.

**Johnny Seo, 27**

Chicago

The Underboss, Second in Command

Part of the Inner Circle

Vice Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Country Manager of NCT USA, Co. 

Spy, Mole

“Papa John”

Johnny who grew up with Taeyong, always knows exactly what’s on the boss’ mind, which is why Taeyong made him second in command. Johnny who looks intimidating, Johnny who is always mistaken as the big boss because of his size, and Johnny who is good at acting, is The Neos’ go to spy.

**Moon Tae Il, 28**

Seoul

Consigliere

Part of the Inner Circle

Board Member & President / Chief Operating Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Hypnotist

“Red Moon”

The “Hyung” of the family, the eldest, the wisest. The one who always critiques Taeyong’s ideas for the better. But don’t let his pretty face deceive you, you might have already fallen under his spell.


	5. Superhuman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forget about mundane yesterday. Wake me up like in the movies, lift my head and shout all day so that I’ll even surprise myself in front of the mirror.  
> I’m the only one who can save myself. I can be anything, I can do anything, test my limit and try.  
> I want to become someone who’s beyond imagination. It’s not the end until I say so.

**Superhuman Squad**

Is the highest squad of The Neos, the executives of NCT, Co.

Spearheads all the big-time deals and businesses

**Nakamoto Yuta, 26**

Tokyo

Caporegime

Part of the Inner Circle

Board Member & Chief Security Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Country Manager of NCT Japan, Co. 

Weaponsmith

“The General”

His enemies call him The General because he’s always ready to fight, always have a weapon at arm’s length, always ready to protect his family. His undying love for weaponry was once his biggest fear. But he’s overcame that. And now, he’s in charge of all weapon deals of The Neos. Equipped with his weapons, Taeyong appointed him as the Security Head. If there’s a war, Yuta can solve it.

**Kim Do Young, 26**

Seoul

Soldier, 2nd in command in the Superhuman Squad

Part of the Middle Circle

Board Member & Chief Financial Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Math Genius, Drug Lord

“The Hero(in)”

Growing up, Doyoung had trouble making friends and always blamed the unbalanced chemicals in his head for it. Still, it resulted in him being fascinated by numbers. And his fascination turned into an addiction with money and drugs. So much so that all drug dealings are headed by him. You know what they say, with great power comes an easy fix.

**Chittapon "Ten" Leechaiyapornkul, 26**

Chicago

Soldier

Part of the Middle Circle

Board Member & Chief Data Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Photographic Memory, Data Analyzer

“Terabyte”

He’s quick to memorize important details, and able to retain a great amount of data as well. Ten’s job had always been crucial to any mission or dealings the members engage in. He’s The Neos’ walking data room, and if anyone can remember what color of the suit their enemy was wearing, it’s Ten.

**Jeong Jae Hyun, 25**

Chicago

Soldier

Part of the Middle Circle

Board Member & Chief Marketing Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Model, Prostitution Ring Leader

“Eros”

The visual, the celebrity, the talk of the town. Jaehyun who can get any person he wants with just a show of his dimple. His prince Charming looks has its perks, and it involves false promises of chasing the sunset.

**Lucas Huang, 23**

Shanghai

Soldier

Part of the Middle Circle

Board Member & Senior Director of the Finance Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Professional Gambler

“Whale”

Lucas’ earnings in his casino nights make up about 20% of NCT's annual income. That’s a lot coming from someone who only finds gambling as a hobby. Lucas always jokes that if Doyoung were to sit beside him while he gambles, he might just win the casino’s net worth he's playing in.


	6. Moonwalk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the high ground to the horizon, bystanders are forbidden from my city.  
> An incredible hurricane is coming, I am building the chosen country.  
> Only dreamers are allowed to enter with pride.  
> I never deny that I am a forerunning pilgrim.  
> On the top of the pyramid, there must be a bluer road.

**Moonwalkers Squad**

The brains of the family

Spearheads all the Cyber and Technological deals

Does back end support of some of the Superhuman Squad’s businesses

**Qian Kun, 26**

Shanghai

Caporegime

Part of the Inner Circle

Board Member & Chief Information Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Country Manager of NCT China, Co.

IT Expert

“Brainiac”

The medulla of the family. Before any member pushes forward with a mission, it has to go through Kun first to make sure it’s fool proof. But every brain needs an amygdala, and Kun expresses it through his cooking and taking care of the Dreamies.

**Dong Si Cheng, 24**

Shanghai

Soldier, 2nd in command in the Moonwalkers Squad

Part of the Middle Circle

Executive Vice President of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Hacker

“The Virus”

Dong Sicheng had his life set for basketball at the tender age of fifteen, that is until a traumatic life experience changed his ways for good. Now, instead of a basketball, Sicheng finds joy in tapping on his keyboard, maybe stealing some data from the government, or just troll the internet.

**Kim Jung Woo, 24**

Seoul

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Senior Vice President of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Assassin

“The Eliminator”

Jungwoo dreamed of becoming successful to make sure his mother lives a comfortable life in the future. He vows to get rid of anyone who stands in his way. Now, ten years later, he’s still doing that, just his scope has gotten bigger.

**Xiao De Jun, 23**

Shanghai

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Senior Director of the IT Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Cyber Attacker

“The Ghost”

Dejun didn’t exactly like computers as a child, but after being introduced to the many possibilities it can do, he can’t help but fall in love with it. Now, he helps Kun and Sicheng with the technical aspect of any mission. But his favorite? Purposely infecting a system with his little B.E.L.L.A. (Bloatware Encryption Latency Loop Application) – a fancy word for a virus that does nothing except continuously add trash files to your computer on repeat unless you run the kill code.

**Hendery Wong, 22**

Shanghai

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Assistant Director of the IT Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Hacker

“The Firewall”

Dejun’s opposite. if Dejun purposely harms a computer, Hendery’s job is to protect it. Hendery and Dejun work side by side, making sure that The Neos’ intel stays within The Neos and that nobody else can access it.

**Liu Yangyang, 21**

Chicago

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Senior Director of the Communications Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Internet Savvy

“King of The Dark Web”

Yangyang had always been intrigued by the Dark Web. He would always try to access it as a child but was never successful. Now that he’s in a mafia, not only does he have access to it 24/7, he manages all of The Neos’ transactions through the Dark Web.


	7. Fireflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll show you what it's all about and we're gonna go all out.  
> You don't gotta sing the blues. If you ever need me just shout, I will always be around

**Fireflies Squad**

The prodigy squad, the youngsters, can do high profile jobs down to the petty crimes

Taeyong’s secret weapons

**Mark Lee, 23**

Vancouver

Caporegime

Part of the Inner Circle

Board Member & Chief Communications Officer of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Country Manager of NCT Canada Co. 

“The Politician”

Learning three languages while growing up has its perks, and Mark has used it to the best of his abilities. Being able to communicate with different people from all walks of life makes his job easier - to negotiate, to persuade, to scam people into doing what he wants.

**Huang Ren Jun, 22**

Vancouver

Soldier, 2nd in Command in the Fireflies Squad

Part of the Middle Circle

Senior Director of the Marketing Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Manipulator, Profiler, Shape shifter

“Honeypot”

Renjun call pull off pretty much anything and anyone. Taeyong wants intel on a prospected client? Give him a minute. Need him to disguise as a distraction while The Neos steal a fifty-thousand-dollar diamond up for auction? He’s got it.

**Lee Je No, 22**

Tokyo

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Senior Director of the Security Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Swordsman

“Slasher”

While Yuta loves his guns, Jeno loves his swords. Him and Yuta go hand in hand when going through a war. He goes with Jungwoo sometimes in case the assassin needs assistance, but most of the time he could be seen hanging out with Jaemin. 

**Lee Hae Chan, 22**

Vancouver

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Assistant Director of the Security Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Explosives and Poison Expert

“Cherry Bomb”

Haechan had always enjoyed watching science experiments despite being talented in the arts. Now all grown up, he’s managed to combine the two, saying that a beautifully crafted but deadly poisonous bomb beats a gun any day.

**Na Jae Min, 22**

Tokyo

Soldier

Part of the Outer Circle

Assistant Director of the Finance Department of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Jack Of All Trades

“The Hidden Card”

Jaemin can do math, can fire a gun, can even do aegyo if he wants to. You name it, Jaemin can do it. He’s The Neo’s most valuable soldier because of his wide array of talents and skills.

**Zhong Chen Le, 20**

Shanghai

Soldier

Shareholder of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Musical Prodigy

“The Siren”

Jisung had always joked that Chenle already knew how to sing the day he was born. He was always musically inclined, so he had no problem playing piano while singing in front of a crowd one time. Since then, Chenle always performs at auctions and other important events to make sure The Neos can do their job – to steal whatever valuable item was stored in that building. He doesn’t mind being a distraction, though. He thrives from the attention people give him anyway.

**Park Ji Sung, 20**

Seoul

Soldier

Shareholder of Neo Culture Technology, Co.

Golden Child

“The Little Boss”

The youngest of the original members, the baby, the Taeyong Jr. of The Neos. He gets whatever he wants with just a flick of his wrist. Some subordinates even say that Jisung is actually a lot scarier than the big three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the character infos! Next chapter will start the main plot of the story! expect shorter chapters from now since there's less time skips and the scenes will most likely be spread out into the next chapters. But I'll try to make it as concise as possible so it's not too long and boring. Anyway, hope you're having fun at least while reading my story! Stay safe!  
> See you in the next chapter!


	8. Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making my own choices, you know that’s my decision  
> See you in your dream, cause I see all of my revision  
> Sick of all the wishin' in my mind  
> Cameras show you what we gon' paint it right  
> Chasing troubles rather where it is  
> Shine my flashing color near the one light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the main plot of the story! Can't believe it took us three chapters to get here! (eight if you count the prologue and the chara info)
> 
> Anyway, from here on out, expect shorter chapters since we've past the build up of the story. 
> 
> ALSO, NCT 2020 TOMORROW WHO'S READY????? I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY ALBUM TO ARRIVE TTuTT 
> 
> Okay, on to the tags!
> 
> tw // mentions of drugs, implied prostitution

Ten years. Ten years have gone by since that tragic incident happened, and it still sits prettily at the top of Taeyong’s head. It’s a hard pill to swallow knowing full well that the only reason he became what he is today is because of those seven gunmen who ruined his life, and thousands of others as well.

But he always, always looks at it in a positive light. If not for that incident, he wouldn’t have met the most precious twenty people in his life now. He would not have an entire mafia ready to bow at his feet every time he walks by. He would not have the most successful IT company attached to his name.

And so far, it’s been a pretty nice ride for all of them. Now, with subordinates and lower ranks scrambling on their feet to carry out their orders, life is a lot easier - whether it’s the simplest of tasks or stealing a high-grade weapon in an undisclosed facility. It’s also been rumored that within the mafia, the original members are collectively called as _Twenty One_. Although Taeyong knows of this, he just finds it humorous and besides, it has a nice ring to it so he lets it slide.

**SEOUL, 1:06 AM KST**

It's one in the morning at the apartment. It was supposed to be quiet now since everyone was asleep yet Taeyong can still hear the loud music blaring from Jisung’s room. He tries to ignore the sound, he really tries, but he’s had a long day and he’s really tired. Irritated, he gets up from his bed and walks to Jisung’s room. As he gets closer, the music gets louder and louder. Once he was in front of the door, he knocks three times and waits for the younger to open the door. A few seconds pass and Jisung still hasn’t answered the door. He knocks three more times, louder this time in hopes that he finally answers the door. When that doesn’t work, well, Taeyong is left with no choice.

“Yah! Park Jisung! Open this door right now!” Still no response. “Are you really ignoring me? Open this door now!” Miraculously, the music on the other side is turned down and he hears footsteps walking towards the door. Finally, Jisung opens the door.

“Hyung! I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were out here.”

“I’ve been knocking on your door for a while now! How can you hear me when your music’s so loud? Turn it off! I’m trying to sleep! Doyoung is probably asleep too!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll turn it off.”

“And go to bed! It’s one am.”

“Yes, hyung.” Jisung bows a little. “Goodnight, hyung.”

“Goodnight, Jisung – ah.” Taeyong bids as he walks away. He hears Jisung close the door just as he was about to enter his room. _Ah, some peace and quiet._

The next morning, Doyoung was already up bright and early and tapping away on his laptop at the balcony. He couldn’t do this before since most of the Dreamies’ stuff were scattered around here, but since all of them have moved out, it’s practically bare and empty.

And when the members started moving out because of the establishment of the foreign branches, it was Jisung who cried the hardest because he was being separated from his family, his best friends. But as time passes, he eventually got over it and moved on. Taeyong felt a little guilty about separating him with the members, especially with Chenle, but he’s consoled the younger countless times and even offered that if he ever misses one of them, he’s free to visit them wherever they may be.

It feels a little lonely, he’ll admit. Most especially now that it’s only the three of them in their apartment. Back then, there were twenty-one of them cramped in here but now they have enough space to play basketball inside. Taeyong ended up staying in his old bedroom while Doyoung moved out to occupy Jaemin, Jeno, Dejun, Hendery, and Yangyang’s old shared bedroom. Jisung ended up occupying Chenle, Renjun, Lucas, and Sicheng’s bedroom. Doyoung then ended up transforming Kun’s old bedroom into a home gym. It was a tight squeeze, since you could only fit a treadmill and a cross trainer.

“Good morning.” It was Taeyong.

“Oh, good morning hyung. I didn’t get to see you come in last night.” Doyoung greets as well.

“Ah, I came in around midnight. The meeting went longer than I expected.”

“Oh? How come?”

“Well, it seems like the heroin trade in Chicago isn’t doing so well so Johnny had to make some adjustments to make ends meet.”

“But I thought it was doing well? When we launched it back in May we sold out three months’ worth of supply in just one night!”

“Apparently trends change fast in that part of the world and people have moved on to a stronger solution.”

“Hm, we may need to reformulate it then. I’ll talk to Haechan about it.”

“Ah, it’s okay. We’re in no rush. It’s not like he’ll go bankrupt if he doesn’t sell his heroin.”

“Yeah, but that’s my heroin and I want to make sure it still clicks with people.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’ll think of something.”

“Okay.” Doyoung drops the subject. “Did anything else happen?”

“Nothing much. Just some monthly updates. The usual.”

“Anything worth mentioning?”

“Hm,” Taeyong takes a seat on the sunbed Doyoung was sitting at. “Not really? Kun did learn how to fly a plane last week.”

“Oh, good for him! He’s been mentioning that he wanted to learn how to fly for years now.”

“Yeah, now Chenle won’t stop pestering him about taking him to Seoul.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.”

“I know, right?” Taeyong looks up at the sky for a second before remembering something. “Oh, by the way, Ten said he sent you an email regarding some discrepancy in our profits from the opium deal back in January.”

“The one with Mr. Chwe? What does he mean?”

“I don’t really know. He didn’t elaborate further. Says that you’re the only allowed to find out. Which is you know… kinda weird… since I should know, too... Aren’t I the leader here?” He points to himself for some dramatic effects.

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic!” Doyoung scolds. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to stress you out. It’s probably not that serious if it’s okay that you don’t know.”

“Well, whatever it is, Mr. Chwe is a nice dude. I’d hate to see him go.”

“Can I at least double check before you send Jungwoo there?”

“Hey!” Taeyong holds his hands up in defense. “I didn’t say anything like that! I just said I’d hate to see him go as in hate to see us part ways!”

“Oh, right, right. Okay. Understood.” Doyoung smiles a little. “Is Jisung still asleep?“

“I guess so. He was still awake around past one am.”

“Aish, that kid.” Doyoung grumbles.

“He’s been sleeping late and waking up late these past couple months.” Taeyong observes.

“I may need to intervene if he doesn’t fix that nasty sleeping schedule of his.”

“Okay, then. I’ll leave that to you.” Taeyong smiles at him.

By the way, there’s breakfast on the table if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you. I’ll go eat them right away!” Taeyong chirps as stands up and walks back inside. Doyoung goes back to his laptop and continues to finalize the report he’s been working on.

**SHANGHAI, 9:03 AM CST, 10:03 AM KST**

bighead1: what are you doing

bighead2: I’m still asleep

bighead1: then how are u replying to me if ur still asleep

bighead2: I mean im still sleepy

bighead1: its 10 there now u should be awake

bighead2: I know but I slept late last night that taeyong hyung even scolded me

bighead1: hahahahaha good for you

bighead2: meanie

Before he could type another snide remark to Jisung, he hears a light knock on his door followed by the doorknob twisting. “Ah Chen, it’s time to wake up, baobei.” Kun peeks his head inside the room. Chenle looks at Kun and flashes him a warm smile.

“I’ll be up in a while, Ge.”

“Okay, Gege made breakfast. Come eat it before it turns cold, alright?”

“Yes, Kun – ge.” He smiles again. Kun smiles at him back and closes the door behind him.

bighead1: I gtg kun – ge’s calling me already

bighead2: ok text me when ur free

bighead1: ok bye

bighead2: bye

Chenle sits up and grabs at the first sweater he sees and puts it on before coming out of his room and into the dining table.

“Oh, it smells nice!” He compliments Kun as he takes a seat.

“Only for my precious baobei.” Kun smiles at him.

“Why does he only smile at Chenle and scowls at us?” Hendery comments upon seeing the exchange.

“Because Chenle isn’t a pain in the ass unlike you three.” Kun remarks with a shit eating smile.

“Hey!” Dejun objects. “I’m more responsible than these two!”

“Says the person who accidentally infected NCT’s servers which resulted in Taeyong hyung yelling through the video call for an hour straight.” Sicheng casually mentions as he sits down. The rest of them laughed at the misfortune Dejun went through.

“It’s not my fault! And besides, I fixed it, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you fixed it alright. Had it not been for Kun – ge’s kill code.”

“Whatever.” Dejun rolls his eyes jokingly.

They start to chow down on their food after calming down from laughing at Dejun. Once finished, Lucas took on the initiative on washing the dishes which surprised Kun and Sicheng the most. But they let it slide and welcomed the idea. They all disperse to different parts of their penthouse; Chenle went back to his room, Dejun and Hendery were watching TV in the living room, Lucas went to the gym, Sicheng was out on the balcony watering their plants, and Kun was in his home office tinkering with a prototype.

It was silent the first hour, then he heard the bathroom door opening, closing, and opening again.

“Kun – ge! There’s no water coming out of the faucet!” Sicheng calls out all the way from the bathroom. Kun perks up upon hearing the younger’s cry for help.

“What? There’s no water? Did you even pay the water bill for this month, Ah Cheng?” Sicheng makes some undecipherable noises and Kun immediately understands it as ‘No, I didn’t because I forgot.’ He stands up straight fully and walks to Sicheng. “How is there no water? Are you sure the main switch is on?”

“Oh, I didn’t check the main switch. Hold on.” Sicheng shyly smiles as he walks outside into the maintenance room near the kitchen. Kun is either busy building the most technologically advanced computer in the world or taking care of five adults who still can’t function on their own. “I forgot to turn it on! Can you believe it?” Sicheng states as he walks inside the bathroom again. “Thank you, Kun – ge!” He says as he slams the door shut in Kun’s face.

“Thank you, Kun – ge!” Kun mocks as he walks back to his home office. “What am I, your nanny? God, do I miss living with Taeyong hyung and Doyoung hyung.” He mutters under his breath. Upon arriving at his home office, he notices that Hendery was inspecting his prototype, or rather, a piece of junk as Chenle would call it. “Don’t even think about touching it!” He warns.

“I wasn’t going to!” Hendery calls back. “I was just looking, sheesh!”

“What brings you here?” Kun asks as he walks towards Hendery.

“Oh, nothing. I just saw your door open so I walked in.” Hendery casually states. “And now that I’ve seen that it’s nothing, Bye!” He waves as he starts to exit.

“Bye?” Kun calls out once the younger was gone. “What is up with him? He needs a drink.”

He works on his prototype for a few more hours before Chenle comes waddling inside his home office with an apron on.

“I cooked lunch and it’s ready to be devoured!” He announces proudly.

“Oh, did you now? Is it edible?” Kun jokes.

“Hey! It was my aunt’s recipe so of course it’s edible!”

“Okay, okay.” He smiles. “Just messing with you, baobei.” He ruffles Chenle’s hair as he walks out with the younger trailing behind him. Once he reaches their dining area, Dejun, Lucas, and Hendery were already seated and halfway to finishing their serving.

“Hey! I said wait for Kun – ge!” Chenle scolds the older three.

“We’re starving and your cooking is so good!” Lucas comments. “We just couldn’t wait to eat!”

“You could’ve at least called Sicheng - ge!”

“No time! I have to be in Macau in an hour! Ms. Honey Punch will be there!”

“Oh, man. Good luck! I heard she’s a strong opponent.” Dejun comments.

“Well, you’ve got your grits, right?” Kun asks as he takes a seat. “Just don’t disappoint Doyoung, alright?”

“I’ve been practicing!” Lucas mentions. “They don’t call me the Whale for nothing!” He boasts.

“Ah, there you go again with your displaced arrogance.” Kun facepalms himself. “Just finish your food and get going.”

“ _Fighting Haeyadwae!”_ Lucas exclaims, pieces of rice still stuck at the corner of his mouth.

**TOKYO, 1:24 PM JST, 1:24 PM KST**

“And there he goes…” Yuta mutters under his breath. He was watching a trainee shoot some target for their monthly performance exam. If they fail, it’s back to basics for them. If they pass, they’re eligible to join the company.

This particular trainee, however, was beyond what Yuta was expecting. He was around the same age as Jaemin and yet his shooting skills was exceptional. He may not possess the years’ worth of experience Jaemin has, but he definitely makes up for it with his skill. And after the third target sheet that the trainee filled with bullet holes in the center, Yuta just had to know who this is.

“Okay, stop!” He orders. The higher rank soldier immediately relays his orders through a megaphone and halts all the activities in the room. “You, on the third left, what’s your name?” Yuta calls out.

“Osaki Shotaro, sir.” The trainee says, head casted down.

“Good job today.” He casually mentions as he walks towards the boy. “I’m looking forward to seeing more from you from now on. Haruka - san,” Yuta looks at his trainer, “bring him to Jaemin. Make sure they become acquainted, alright?”

“Right away, Nakamoto – sama.” Haruka bows in acknowledgement.

“Good, good. Then, I’ll be off. The rest of them will continue with their training. Include Sugawara – san in next week’s training to speed things up.”

“Of course, Nakamoto – sama.” Haruka bows again. Yuta takes one last look at the room before heading out. He walks to his office upstairs, and was greeted with Jeno and Jaemin cramped up in his office couch, a Nintendo Switch in both their hands.

“Oh,” His demeanor quickly changes, the scary leader vibe long gone as he approaches the two. “What are you two playing?” He takes a peek at both their screens.

“Mario Kart,” Jeno informs. “And Jaemin is losing!”

“Only because you used a banana! How dare you!” Jaemin scolds, his gaze never leaving the screen. Yuta laughs at their banter and takes a seat at his swivel chair, the daily reports his secretary gave him this morning all scattered all over his desk.

“Ah, this is a mess!” He complains with a pout on his face.

“What is?” Jeno asks as he releases a red shell to Jaemin.

“Lee Jeno!” Jaemin yells as Toad spins off the track. 

“These papers on my desk!” He complains again, quite petulantly this time. “Why are they so disorganized?”

“You were looking through them this morning, remember? Before Haruka – san came in and dragged you to watch the new batch of trainees.” Jeno supplies.

“Oh, right.” He agreed. “Anyway, there’s a trainee that’s meeting you today. He’s really good for his age.”

“Who, me?” Jaemin asks.

“Yeah. He managed to hit a bullseye each time.”

“Oh, is someone about to dethrone me?”

“I doubt a trainee can dethrone a founder.” Yuta jokes. “I told Haruka – san to get him to meet you. He might be useful for you on your missions.”

“Sure, sure.” Jaemin replies nonchalantly, fully engrossed in beating Jeno in the last lap.

“You look tired, hyung.” Jeno looks at him as their race finally ends, with him coming in first place and Jaemin at fourth.

“The meeting last night ran so late. I didn’t think it’d take that long.”

“Oh, how come?” Jaemin looks at him too.

“Johnny’s facing some trouble selling his portion of the heroin trade. Apparently, sales dropped to a whooping twenty percent.”

“Oh, wow. That’s a lot.”

“Yeah, but he says he’ll take care of it.”

“I just know by saying that he’ll take of it, it has something to do with Jaehyun hyung again.” Jeno jokes.

“Right?” Yuta agrees. “I might end up seeing Jaehyun’s face on LED screens at the Shibuya crossing again.”

“I mean, if I had a face like that, I, too would want the whole world to know about my face.”

“Well, that’s not our problem.” Jaemin finally concludes as he puts down his switch. “I’m sure Johnny hyung can fix whatever problem he’s facing.”

“Right, right.” Jeno agrees. “Rematch?” He looks at Jaemin.

“Oh, definitely!”

Yuta couldn’t help but laugh at Jaemin’s enthusiasm.

**CHICAGO, 1:10 AM CDT, 3:10 PM KST**

“I’m gonna beat you!” Yangyang proclaims as he hurls a pillow at Ten’s direction.

“If you can catch me!” Ten taunts as he runs away from the younger.

“I swear, when I have a child, I’m gonna name him Eleven because he’s gonna be a better person than you.” Yangyang mentions as he chases Ten.

“Hm, okay.” Ten deadpans. “Bye, bye!” he then abruptly stops in his tracks which resulted in Yangyang slamming his head on his back.

“What the? Why’d you stop running?” Yangyang complains as he rubs his forehead.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“That sound! Like someone’s crying.”

“Ha ha, very funny. You know our loft isn’t haunted. Stop trying!”

“No, it sounds like someone is literally crying. I wasn’t saying it was a ghost.”

“What? Who’s crying? Johnny hyung is still out, and Jaehyun hyung is in his room.”

“Oh?” This piques Ten’s interest and walks over to Jaehyun’s room. He opens the door softly so as to not startle Jaehyun. And there lo and behold, the face of the family, wrapped in a blanket with a laptop on his lap, crying his eyes out from a movie he was watching.

“Oh my God Jaehyun! Are you okay?” Ten walks over to the younger, genuine concern etched on his face.

Hm, what?” Jaehyun looks at him and immediately wipes his tears away. “I’m fine, I was just watching a movie.” He manages through his sniffing.

“Yangyang thought our place was haunted again because I said I heard someone was crying.”

“Oh, was I crying that loud? This movie’s just so good.”

“What are you watching, then?” Ten takes a peek at his laptop screen.

Frozen. Jaehyun was bawling his eyes out to Frozen.

“It’s so sad what happened to Anna.” Jaehyun sniffles some more as he explains what’s going on.

“You’ve been hanging out with Haechan too much.” Ten comments as he stands up. “Get some fresh air!” He calls out as he walks back to the living room.

“Well?” Yangyang looks at him expectantly.

“He was crying to Anna being frozen in ice.”

“What?” Yangyang couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.

“I told him to get some fresh air.”

“Good for him.”

Some time in the middle of the night, Johnny comes back and immediately heads to his room. He’s had a long day too and just wants to forget about being in a mafia even for just a couple of hours. As he walks out of his en suit bathroom, he notices that Jaehyun was curled up on his bed, hugging a piece of the blanket up to his face.

“Hey! I didn’t hear you come in.” Jaehyun whispers once he notices the older walking towards him.

“I just came a couple minutes ago.” He replies as he dries his hair with a towel. “Are Ten and Yangyang asleep?”

“I think so? I don’t hear them yelling in the living room anymore.”

“So, it was them? There’s a heap of mess outside.”

“I’ll handle it tomorrow.” Jaehyun assures. “Come,” he taps the spot the next to him. “Sleep.” He orders.

“In a while. I just want to dry my hair first.” He says as he sits by the edge of the bed.

“Still stressed?” Jaehyun sits up closer to him.

“Taeil hyung’s giving me a hard time. It’s like he just gave me an ultimatum.”

“Hey, he’s probably just scared of what’s to come. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” Jaehyun smiles at him. “If all else fails, I’m more than willing to promote it.” The younger winks at him.

“Oh,” Johnny laughs a little. “I don’t think we would come to that. I think we just need to find the right market.”

“Hmm,” Jaehyun hums. “Leave that to me, then.”

“You have a plan?”

“Yeah, I think I have one.”

“Okay.” Johnny acknowledges. He stands up and hangs the towel on the armchair and walks back to his bed. He notices that Jaehyun already has his eyes closed, probably trying to fall asleep again. He stares at the younger for a second before a smile forms on his face. He quickly catches on to himself smiling and puts on a straight face. He tries to brush the thought away and decides that he really needs to sleep. Once he was lying down, he can finally feel his fatigue pulling him to sleep. “Jaehyun?” He calls out to the younger.

“Hm?” Jaehyun responds.

“Goodnight.” Johnny bids.

“Goodnight, hyung.”

**VANCOUVER, 5:45 AM PDT, 9:45 PM KST**

The sun was just starting to color the dark sky and yet Renjun was already up and making breakfast for the three of them. It’s become a routine for the three of them; Renjun is in charge of breakfast, Haechan with lunch, and Mark for dinner. Of course, this only applies on days when they’re free since most of the time they’re either camped in their office in downtown Vancouver or some hotel room in a foreign country.

The apartment was still and quiet, with only the sound of the bubbling water echoing throughout the open space. Somehow, it’s become a thing within the original members of The Neos to still rent apartments despite being able to afford mansions. Living at the highest floor of the apartment complex gives them some sort of familiarity; it’s just like living back in their run-down rooftop apartment in Silim – dong where they’re still all cramped together, all twenty - one of them.

The kettle whistles to life, and Renjun is quick to turn off the stove to avoid waking the others. He pours the water to a mug and mixes the coffee altogether. He sets it aside and brings out some eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, and strawberries for his pancakes. Mark loves pancakes, Renjun has learned so he makes it his personal mission to make the best pancakes his hyung has ever eaten. He starts to prepare the ingredients, then mixing them all together before pouring them into a pan to cook. At around past six am, he was done with cooking and starts waking up the two heavy sleepers and rounding them both to eat.

“Come on, don’t be so groggy!” Renjun whines. “I got up extra early just so that I can cook!”

“I love it, Renjunnie, I’m just tired.” Mark responds, eyes still closed. Renjun notices that Haechan takes a big bite of the pancakes and his expression quickly changes.

“Oh my God, Injunnie, this is delicious!” Haechan brightens up, finally awake from his sleep. “I love the strawberries!”

“I’m glad you like them!” Renjun beams. Mark then takes a bite as well and he too finally wakes up from his sleep.

“Oh, man! Oh, man! This is sweet!” Mark exclaims, his mouth full of pancakes. Renjun couldn’t help but laugh at his two brothers.

“Well, I think I now know what to wake you both up with.”

“Yeah, but don’t make it all the time or else I’ll get tired of it.” Haechan says.

“Alright, alright. I won’t.” Renjun smiles. He then turns to Mark. “How did your meeting go? Anything insightful?”

“Hm, nothing much.” Mark replies with a mouth full of pancakes. “Just some usual monthly updates. Oh, and you know about Johnny hyung’s troubles, right?”

“Yeah, I heard from Yangyang.”

“Who knew Chicago moves on so quickly like the seasons.”

“It was bound to happen anyway. America is such a hard market to conquer.” Haechan comments. “At this rate we may need to scrap the formula completely and start from scratch.”

“You mean make a new mix?” Renjun raises his eyebrows in confusion.

“Probably. But only if it still doesn’t click.”

“Wait, does that mean we have to pull out internationally or only in Chicago?”

“We would lose millions if we pulled out globally.” Mark interjects. “Besides, it’s making waves everywhere else, especially in South America so it would make more sense to pull out in the States only.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But nothing’s been decided yet. Doyoung hyung would still have to crunch numbers before Taeyong hyung makes any big decisions. Of course, that is if all the higher ups agree.”

“Well, do you agree?” Haechan looks at Mark.

“Whatever makes Johnny hyung’s life easier.” Mark simply states. “I know the struggles of managing an entire country and honestly, losing an arm is nothing compared to a setback this big.”

“I agree.” Haechan hums. “I just hope Ten hyung, Jaehyun hyung, and Yangyang are doing a good job at being Johnny’s hyung support system.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that!” Renjun scolds. “It’s twenty-one or nothing, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Haechan dismisses. “I know that! I said that!”

**SEOUL, 11:30 PM KST**

Taeyong was sat in his home office (well, it used to be Taeil, Yuta, Jungwoo, Jaehyun, and Mark’s shared bedroom, but since all of them moved out, he turned in into his and Doyoung’s home office) with his phone propped up in a stand with Johnny’s face on the phone screen. They were video calling each other, updating one another on what has happened since their last meeting. The topic was still focused on Johnny’s receding heroin sale but the underboss has expressed countless times that he’ll handle it, no matter how much of hassle it will be.

“I’ll have Jaehyun do some promoting for our heroin, so don’t worry about it. He told me he has a plan.” Johnny explains, his audio coming in and out for a bit.

“You can’t fuck this up, Johnny. We have bills to pay in your part of the world. We can’t be looking like idiots in front of our clients.” Taeyong replies.

“I know! That’s why I said I’ll take care of it! Besides, it’s only the heroin that’s doing some slacking! The rest are doing okay. Jaehyun’s clients are still eating it up.”

“And how is Jaehyun going to fix your problem?”

“They have to buy first before they get to pick.”

“And what if they refuse to buy?”

“With Jaehyun’s standards? They’d be begging by the front door if anything.”

“Don’t get too laxed, not all customers are looking for a pretty face.”

“And I assure you, Jaehyun’s picks are the best of the best. Trust on Jaehyun to find some diamonds in the rough.”

“I want results, Johnny, not empty words.”

“Please trust me, Yong – ah.” The sincerity in Johnny’s voice somehow travelled through the computer screen and into his ears. He could hear it, that same voice that used to soothe him back then; ten, twelve years back.

“Okay,” Taeyong finally gives in. “I trust you.”

“Believe me, okay? I’m not gonna pull a Chanyeol on you!” Johnny jokes.

“Oh, my fucking God!” Taeyong almost screams in amusement. He falls down from his chair from laughing and somehow, he managed to knock his phone down with him. He lies on the floor for a while, still clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. To be fair, what Johnny said wasn’t even that funny, but it was him mentioning Chanyeol’s name after so long that did it for him. _The motherfucker finally got what he deserved for backstabbing Junmyeon_ , Taeyong thought again. He’s sure Junmyeon’s giving him a hard time, wherever they both may be. Once he’s calmed down and cleared his thoughts, he finally sits back up and props his phone on the stand again. He clears his throat and looks at Johnny through the screen. “You know what we should do?” He finally says.

“What?” Johnny was taken aback a bit by Taeyong suddenly speaking.

“Well, you know how we’re all established now and well off, right?”

“Suddenly? But yeah?”

“Don’t you think it’s time we find those assholes who fucked us over ten years ago?”

“What?” Johnny exclaims.

“Honestly, it’s been on my mind for a while now, and I just think it’s time we make a move. I mean, wasn’t this the reason we ran away in the first place?” He looks at Johnny intently, watching his underboss’ reaction. “We just kept getting sidetracked all this time.” He adds.

“I thought you were happy with where we are now?” Johnny spoke after some time.

“I am! I just… want closure, I guess? I want justice. Not just for us but for all the students who died that day.”

“Didn’t we try that already? Remember the first few months we were still under Junmyeon? We tried but we always turned up empty.”

“Well, Kun wasn’t that well versed with his field back then. And we didn’t have access to all the necessary materials that we needed to find them. But now we do.”

“It’s risky, Yong – ah. What if they come for our family?”

“They won’t.” Taeyong assures him. “Don’t you think we have some teeth now? I think we can pull this off.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“Like how I used to say; lure them in.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Hm,” Taeyong thinks for a while. “How about posting a video online saying we’re survivors from the incident? Like we’ll make it go viral! We’ll say that we’ll reveal their identities and shit. And when they take the bait and hunt us down to shut us up, we’ll hunt them down first and take them down.”

“For once, that actually seems pretty harmless that it might just work.”

“Right? So, what do you say?” Taeyong looks at Johnny expectantly.

“We should ask Taeil hyung first.”

“Ah, there we go again.”

“That’s his job, Taeyong – ah.” Johnny deadpans.

“Right, right.” Taeyong looks away pouting.

“We’ll call him tomorrow together so if he doesn’t like it, he’ll yell at us both, okay?”

“Fine, fine.” Taeyong dismisses, already dreading having to consult with Taeil about his plan.

Tomorrow comes sooner than expected and Taeyong was at his wit’s end. He invites Taeil to his office first thing in the morning and offers him some tea before he tells the older about his and Johnny’s plan. Technically, it’s his plan, Johnny was just kind enough to let his name get dragged into it.

“Absolutely ridiculous!” Taeil yells at them both. “You’ll be putting not only the members that would appear on the video but their families as well!”

“See, I told you he’ll just yell at us!” Taeyong complains to Johnny. “We should’ve gone with this without him knowing!”

“You didn’t think this through, didn’t you?”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, I had this crazy idea at three am one day and in my sleep deprived state I thought it could actually work!’”

“It would have been better if you didn’t say anything at all.” Taeil deadpans. Taeyong was flabbergasted to say the least by Taeil’s snark reply.

“Hyung!” He complains. “What do I have to do to convince you?”

“Bribe me.”

“No shit, hyung.” Taeyong states as a matter of fact. “It won’t be that bad, I promise!” He bargains. “We can use our identities from the protection program to throw them off for a bit.”

Taeil looks at him with an icy cold stare. It takes a while for the older to speak. “Lee Taeyong, I’m giving you fifteen seconds to fully explain your wack plan before I walk out of this room.” He warns.

Taeyong has never talked so fast in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost finished with the next chapter but I'm still polishing it as of now. So expect another update within a couple of days?  
> BUT, now that I'll be working five days a week now, after the next chapter, expect slow updates from me 😭 but I'll still try to write when I get home (hopefully I'm not fully drained yet and can still think straight)
> 
> Anyway, what do you think of the story? Comments are well appreciated! And if you think there's an error, please let me know! Constructive criticism is always welcomed since I'm the only one editing this as well hehe.


	9. Take Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can I be honest?  
> I so hate to be controlled.  
> The rules of flight have only one rule  
> Which is to forget all the rules  
> If you want to climb up or rotate,  
> Trust only the compass of free will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO HELLO! This is the latest chapter that I've pre - written so far so please bear with me as the next coming chapters will be updated a little slower than usual. 
> 
> RIGHT WHO HERE WAS PERSONALLY ATTACKED BY MAKE A WISH? JAEMIN?? AND XIAOJUN?????? Honestly, the songs in Resonance all fit so together I'm gonna cry. I think From Home is favorite so far with just how well put the different languages are and its so so satisfying to listen to????
> 
> Okay that's enough ranting in here
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE READ THIS  
> In this chapter, Jisung is seen using drugs. If you are uncomfortable with this, please skip reading the italicized paragraph. Again, if you don't want to read it, skip reading it. ALTHOUGH Jisung is 20 in this chapter, I just want to put this here in case you don't like reading these kinds of things. 
> 
> Alrighty, here we go!!

**SEOUL, 5:09 PM KST**

“Jisung – ssi, where are you going?” A subordinate asks him as he walks out of _his office._

“I’m just going somewhere.”

“At this hour?”

“Ah, this doesn’t concern you, hyungnim.” Jisung was starting to get annoyed by the subordinate asking too many questions.

“I better not get a call from the police station saying that you were arrested _again_.”

“I can’t make any promises, hyungnim.” He spats as he walks away.

As much as he loves having people do stuff for him, it gets kind of suffocating at times most especially when they just won’t lay off of him. It’s even worse when they report to Taeyong his every move. It’s like people still see him as a harmless ten-year-old who can’t do shit. He has obviously grown up, with him towering if not most of his hyungs. His voice has changed too - gone are the days of him being called a mouse because of the way his voice would squeak at times. He’s twenty now, when will people see that? _When will Taeyong hyung and Doyoung hyung see that?_

He hops inside the waiting SUV and instructs the driver to take him to Neo Zone. On the drive there, he gets a text from Doyoung telling him to come home early since they’ll be having a meeting with all the original members. _Oh_ , Jisung thought. He almost forgot. It’s the tenth-year anniversary of their horrendous experience. He types a quick reply and shoves his phone back in his pocket. Guess he’ll just have to move quickly.

What urged him to wreak havoc today was actually because of Taeyong; Taeyong who still won’t let him live alone, Taeyong who still won’t let him learn how to drive, Taeyong who still won’t let him go on solo missions, Taeyong who still sees his as a child, Taeyong who still sees him as damn damsel in distress. He loves Taeyong to death, but sometimes Taeyong can be too overbearing.

So today, Jisung chose chaos, and chaos he will bring. When he got to Neo Zone, it wasn’t that packed yet. Just a few new patrons here and there, and the regulars on the second floor. The bartender greets him with a bow and continues to serve drinks.

_He walks all the way through the dance floor and into a room on the far end. The bouncer immediately recognizes him and opens the door for him. The room in question is actually Doyoung’s drug vault. Here, freshly packed cocaine and neatly arranged heroin bottles are lined up on the shelves. He takes one of the heroin bottles and grabs a sealed syringe inside a drawer and sits on a chair. He injects the needle into the rubber lid of the bottle and takes about half of the content before injecting it into the skin on his arm. It takes about twenty seconds of his vision spinning around him before the high starts to kick in. He stands up slowly, letting the full effect of the drug take over him. A few more seconds passes and he empties the content of the bottle and injects it to his skin. Now, the euphoric sensation he was feeling was twice as high as what he would normally inject, but still manageable by his accord._

Satisfied, he walks outside into the dance floor and takes in his environment – Dimly lit with loud EDM music playing, it was a perfect place to commit a crime. And given his intoxicated state, nothing is impossible. He scans the dance floor and strikes up a conversation to the first patron he sees. It’s not like he’ll remember half the shit he’s about to cause anyway. He starts conversing with the patron as a distraction, but he quickly glances at the bulging wallet on the front pocket of the patron. Jisung was amused at how easy this will be. He tries to look more interested in the conversation and skillfully averts the attention on him. And once he deems that they’re distracted enough, he purposely trips forward and grabs at the wallet at the same time and quickly tucks it into the waistband of his jeans. When he notices that the patron had no clue as to what just happened, he continues to talk to them again, and eventually closing the conversation after a few minutes. He does this for a few more times until there just wasn’t any space left to hide their wallets. Had Jisung worn a hoodie today, he would be done by tomorrow morning with just how many he can hide in the pocket of his hoodie.

By seven thirty in the evening, Doyoung was already pestering him to come back home so that they can start the meeting. He rolls his eyes in annoyance but obliges nonetheless. Once he got back, he quickly shuffles to the bathroom to take a quick shower to rid himself of any remnants of the heroin. Once done, he also throws his clothes into the washer to remove the smell of whatever the fuck the patrons were smoking back there.

“You’re late.” Doyoung snaps at him.

“But I’m here now so it’s all good.” He sheepishly replies.

“Where were you? A subordinate said you left your office earlier than usual.”

“Fucking hell! When will they stop selling me out?!”

“Park Jisung!” Now it was Taeyong’s turn to scold him, _again._

“I went to Neo Zone! There, happy?” He barks back.

“What were you doing there?” Doyoung starts. “No, never mind! I think I know!”

“I didn’t do anything.” He tries.

“You took a shower, the washer’s running.” Doyoung deadpans and Taeyong’s expression immediately changes.

“What did we tell you about using heroin? They’re dangerous and not for you to use as you please!”

“Then why are they sitting there if not for me to use?”

“Are you serious? Do you hear yourself right now, Park Jisung?”

“Hyung.” Doyoung tries to calm down Taeyong, but he knows it’s not going to work.

“Jisung – ah, you know we’re selling those, right? Do you know that your Johnny hyung is literally having a hard time selling his heroin and you’re just here taking them as you please!”

“It’s just one bottle! What’s so bad about that?”

“And what about the other bottles that you took?”

“I’ll pay for them if you’re still so pissy about it!” He screams.

“Jisung!” Doyoung calls him out. “You can’t talk to him like that!”

“That’s – that’s not fair! Stop treating me like a child!” Before he knows it, there were already tears streaking down his cheeks. “Kun hyung let’s Chenle do what he wants, Ten hyung lets Yangyang hyung travel on his own, so why can’t I?” He manages through his sobs. “Why won’t you – when will you… I’m not a kid anymore.” He whispers the last part.

Confused, Taeyong and Doyoung look at each other. “So, you were rebelling.” Doyoung concludes.

“Was I really?” Jisung replies, his head down casted.

“You’re rebelling because we’re suffocating you, correct?”

“It’s just too much sometimes.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us?” Taeyong speaks up, his voice now soft. If there’s one thing Taeyong can’t stand, it’s getting mad at Jisung for a prolonged period of time.

“It’s not like you’ll listen to me since you only see me as a kid.”

“Jisung.” Doyoung warns again.

“Are we that unapproachable to you now? Is that why you’re not telling us?” Taeyong asks again.

“I know better than to disturb while you both work. I’m just a nuisance anyway.”

“Will you stop with the snide remarks and look at us!” Doyoung finally demands, having enough of this already.

“What do you want me to say?” Jisung finally looks up at his hyungs. “Please continue to baby me for the rest of my life? Please continue to take care of me as if I’m still ten years old?”

“Be a little more thankful!” Doyoung barks.

“Thankful? You think I wanted to end up like this? You think I wholeheartedly came back after we visited Busan all those years ago? I wanted to stay! I wanted to leave you guys behind! But guess what? Jaemin hyung talked me into staying! Because he said the exact same thing you said; be thankful! Ha!” His words hung heavy around the air, neither of his hyungs having the right words to say.

“Jisung, it’s obvious that you’re still not sober enough to join us for this meeting, so please just go inside your room and rest.” Taeyong says after a while.

“There you go again! Dismissing me as if I’m a child!” Fresh new tears now streaking down Jisung’s face but he wipes them away immediately. “Fine. Go ahead. Treat me as you please. It’s whatever now.” He spats as he walks to his room and slams the door shut.

Taeyong and Doyoung stood in the living room for a moment, not really knowing what to do next. It was one thing for Jisung to whine every once in a while, but neither of them expected for him to blow up like this. Was it years’ worth of pent up frustration? Teenage rebellion? Honestly, they didn’t know. They were both just trying their best to raise Jisung. They were twenty-seven and twenty-six respectively. Neither of them had any formal training on how to raise a child. It hits even harder knowing that when they took on the role of raising Jisung, they were kids themselves. They were all kids just trying to live a normal life.

“Should we talk to him?” Doyoung voices out.

“No, let him sulk for the night. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. If he still doesn’t budge, I’m dragging his ass to Shanghai and let Chenle talk some sense into him.”

“I’m starting to think that we shouldn’t have separated them in the first place.” Doyoung confesses.

“No shit, Doyoung – ah.”

It was quiet for a while, both of them forgetting about the meeting they were supposed to host.

“Hyung, are you okay?” Doyoung asks after some time.

“What?” Taeyong looks at Doyoung confused. “What do you mean?”

“Jisung has never really raised his voice like that to us. I just want to know if you’re okay.”

“Okay? Doyoung – ah why would I be okay?” He starts as he cards his fingers through his hair in frustration. “All this time I thought we were doing an okay job at raising Jisung only for us to get hit in the face that we weren’t.”

“But it’s not our fault. We didn’t know!”

“Because we don’t ask! We just thought as long as he was okay physically, he was okay all over! But deep inside he was hurting and we didn’t ask!”

“Hyung – “

“How do we expect him to open up to us if we don’t make the first move? We should’ve known better… I should’ve known better. What Jisung is going through right now is exactly what I went through when I was a teenager.”

“Okay but don’t beat yourself up because of it. Alright, it’s our fault for not asking. It’s our fault for not looking after him better. But don’t blame yourself alone. It’s both our faults.”

Taeyong was silent after that. He’s racking his brain for answers. When? When did it start? When did Jisung start to feel suffocated enough that he started to lose control? And why? Why didn’t he tell them? His image of Jisung was so, so different from what Jisung was like just a few minutes ago. Was his sweet, innocent, and wide eyed Jisung already gone and replaced with a matured and independent Jisung? Was that it? Was that the problem? That he kept projecting his own image of Jisung in his head to the real Jisung that he failed to see what Jisung was really like? His tears started to fall just thinking about it. He’s right. He’s right that he’s wrong. He fucked up big time.

“Hyung.” Doyoung whispers to him. “Just get some rest, okay? I’ll tell Johnny hyung that we’ll postpone the meeting to tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” He replies monotonously. He walks to his room, passing by Jisung’s room on his way there. He could hear the faint cries on the other side of the door and that broke Taeyong even more. He just wants to hug the younger tight and tell him that everything will be okay. But he stops himself to avoid being called overbearing again. When reaches his room, he immediately lays on his bed and buries his face in his pillow. There, he finally lets out the sobs that he’s been holding back. _I’m sorry Jisungie. I’m sorry I failed you._

Doyoung, who was still in the living room, collects himself as well and sends a message to Johnny that the meeting is cancelled tonight and that they’ll do it tomorrow. When Johnny asked why, Doyoung texts him back and simply said that Taeyong and Jisung are too tired to participate. The last thing he wants is for the rest of the members to know that their leader and their golden child was having a fight.

Honestly, Doyoung was just as confused as Taeyong was. Growing up, he had a hard time empathizing with people and to suddenly be pushed together with twenty other strangers mortified him the most. It was tough, he’ll admit, with him butting heads with them at times. But as time moves on, he started to slowly collapse his walls and let them in one by one. First it was Ten and Kun, then Taeyong, then Jeno, and the rest soon followed suit. It became fine for him to share a space with that many people. Actually, he enjoyed it so much so that he sometimes forgets the chemical imbalance in his brain. But when the members started to move out and it was just the three of them alone, his high came crashing down and the bitter reality hit him – you can’t have it your way forever. And to top it off with the responsibility of raising a child, despite being a child himself, was just too much for him. How dare the world expect him to take care of a person when he himself can’t take of himself.

But he brushes those thoughts aside. Taeyong is hurting and Jisung is hurting as well and as the only member of this household that was doing somewhat okay, he has to take on the role of the mediator to make the two resolve their conflict.

Morning comes quite painstakingly slow and Doyoung was the first to get up. He is in no mood to cook for them so he just orders some take outs for breakfast. While waiting for the food to arrive, he walks to Taeyong’s room and knocks softly on the door. When there was no reply, he opens the door himself and walks inside. He notices that Taeyong was still under the covers, fast asleep. He sits by the edge of the bed and unwraps the blanket off of him and gently nudges the older awake.

“Hyung. It’s time to wake up. I ordered breakfast.”

No response.

“Hyung! Come on! You’ve got a mafia to lead today.”

Still no response.

“Don’t make me…” He trails off. And when Taeyong was still unmoving, he brings his hand to Taeyong’s side and starts tickling him. There was no reaction the first few seconds so he starts to tickle harder until Taeyong finally stirs awake.

“Hmmp.” Taeyong finally says.

“Wake up, hyung.”

“Five more minutes.” He mutters, eyes still closed.

“We don’t have five minutes. Come on, get up.” Doyoung softly says. Taeyong opens his eyes and gives Doyoung a glare. “Get up and wake Jisung up. Food is on the way.”

“Fine.” Taeyong huffs. He sits up and uncovers the blanket on him and stretches himself awake more. Once he can feel his blood flow, he stands up and walks out with Doyoung trailing behind him.

Taeyong makes a beeline for Jisung’s room and stood by the door for a few seconds to recollect himself. What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry for being a terrible parent. Yeah, that works, he says to himself. He tries to open the door but it was locked. Funny, Jisung never locks his door.

“Jisung?” He starts. “Are you awake?”

No sound.

He tries knocking a few times before calling for the younger again. “Jisung? Please open the door. Hyung just wants to talk to you.”

Taeyong comes to a conclusion that either Jisung is still asleep or just flat out ignoring him. He’s hoping it’s the first one.

“Jisungie, please open the door… Please?” He pleads. God this looks like Anna begging for Elsa to play with her. He knocks in the same way Anna knocks on Elsa’s door. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” He sings. He looks stupid, he’ll admit. But he’ll do anything just to make Jisung talk to him.

And he hears it. It’s faint but it’s there – Jisung’s soft laugh. He finally hears some footsteps walking towards the door. “Go away, Anna.” Jisung sings back.

“I want to sing ‘okay, fine’ but we really need to talk.” He teases.

Jisung finally opens the door and Taeyong can finally see the state the younger was in – messy hair, puffy eyes, red cheeks, yeah, he’s been crying all night. Jisung scoots over and Taeyong walks inside the room and takes a seat on the bed and looks at Jisung.

“First of all,” It was Taeyong who was the first to speak. “I just want to say that I’m sorry for not being sensitive enough to your feelings. I didn’t know you were feeling that way.”

“It’s fine, hyung. I gave it some thought and I realized that I was probably overreacting last night. Maybe I was still high when I came home.”

“No, no. Don’t invalidate your feelings like that. You had every right to be angry at us. It’s okay.”

“I just, I, I just want you and Doyoung hyung to be lenient with me sometimes. It doesn’t have to be all the time, just enough to get me some breathing space.”

“Okay, I understand. I can do that. I do admit that I still see you as a child sometimes. That’s on me. I guess I just haven’t come to terms with the fact that you’re a grown up now.”

“Really, hyung? Now that I’m taller than you?” Jisung smiles at him.

“I can be blind sometimes, you see.”

“Then that’s all I want, hyung. I am thankful for all the things you’ve done for me. For taking care of me.” Jisung walks forward and takes a seat next to Taeyong.

“Really?” Taeyong was already close to tears.

“Really, hyung.” Jisung smiles at him. “I take back what I said last night about wanting to stay behind. I realized that if I did, my life would not be half as entertaining as it is now.”

“Thank you, Jisung.” Taeyong hugs Jisung tightly and buries his head to the younger’s shoulder. “Thank you for choosing to stick with me, no matter how much I make mistakes.”

“Don’t say that, hyung.” Jisung reasons. “You’re still a child yourself. “He teases. “We’re all human and we all just had to grow up really fast.” That’s the thing – they all had to grow up before they could even enjoy their youth.

“You’re not mad at me?” Taeyong breaks free from the hug,

“No, I can never be mad at you.” Jisung simply states.

“I’m sorry.” Taeyong starts to cry again and proceeds to bury his head by the crook of Jisung’s neck.

“Aish, hyung! Don’t cry! Crying doesn’t suit you.”

“Let me cry.” He manages. “I can bear to be enemies with everybody else except you.”

“What? Come on, hyung. Don’t be like that! It’s all good now. I forgive you.”

Taeyong lifts his head and wipes at his tears. “Thank you for forgiving me.”

Jisung smiles widely at him and stands up. “Come on, don’t be sad anymore. We’re okay now, right?”

“Yes! We’re okay now. However…” Taeyong trails off and that was enough to wipe the smile off of Jisung’s face.

“However… what?”

“No more heroin, Jisungie.” Taeyong lightly scolds. “That’s bad for you!”

“Ah, that. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop, hyung. You know how hard it is to stop once you’re addicted?”

“When did it start?”

“About… a year ago? I think.”

“Jisungie!”

“I just wanted to try… I didn’t think I’d end up being addicted to it.”

“Then, we’ll get through it together, you and me.”

“It’s not that easy, hyung! Believe me, I’ve tried countless times, but every time I do so I just keep coming back.”

“We’ll take baby steps together, okay?” Taeyong reassures.

“Promise you won’t leave me?” Jisung looks at him expectantly.

“I promise I won’t leave you.” Taeyong smiles at the younger. Jisung smiles at him back and extends his arm for Taeyong to hold. “Okay, I trust you hyung.”

“Right, okay now.” Taeyong wipes at his remaining tears and holds Jisung’s hand.

“I heard Doyoung hyung ordered take out for breakfast. Let’s eat! I’m starving! I don’t think any of us ate dinner last night.”

Taeyong smiles at Jisung’s comment and they walk outside to the dining area hand in hand. Thank goodness that’s over with.

Later in the afternoon, Taeyong was sat in the conference room of Neo Zone – a dimly lit room with a round table that can seat all twenty-one of them. On the other side of the table, Taeil was sat in a chair facing Taeyong. On top of the table was a laptop with Johnny, Yuta, Kun, and Mark in a conference call.

“Taeyong has gathered us here together to hear his outrageous plan.” Teil informs the other four.

“In which you agreed.” Taeyong taunts.

“Only because I will have no obligation to be responsible once things don’t go as planned.”

“In which you still agreed to.”

“Okay?” Kun laughs to break the tension between the two.

“Care to explain to them, Mr. I know everything?”

“I would love to, Mr. Smarty Pants.”

“Smarty Pants.” Mark snorts out loud. “Oh, shit. Sorry, sorry.”

“Anyway, I would like to apologize for not attending last night’s meeting due to some personal issues at home. But rest assured it’s all taken care off.” Taeyong apologizes but Mark noticed the hurt look on the older one’s face.

“Oh, no. What did Jisung do?” Mark interrupts.

“Nothing that should elicit your concern, Markie – ah. It’s okay now.” Taeyong tries to dismiss the topic. “Right, where were we? Oh, yeah! My plan to find those seven masked gunmen who ruined our lives ten years ago.”

“Didn’t we already try that back when we were still under Junmyeon?” Kun voices out.

“Yeah, but we weren’t successful then. This time, given our power and influence, I’m pretty confident we can pull this off.”

“And what’s our success rate? Will this involve the entire mafia or only us twenty-one?” Yuta speaks up.

“I want this to be as air tight as possible so only us twenty-one. As for the success rate, well, that depends on their response.”

“Response?”

“Just explain the plan to them, Taeyong – ah. We’re all busy!” Taeil snaps.

“Okay, okay, sheesh! My plan was that we upload a video of some of us saying that we’re survivors of the incident from ten years ago and that we’ve had enough of no justice being served to those who passed so we’ll reveal their identities if they don’t surrender themselves.”

“That’s it?” Kun was quite shocked. “It’s that simple? Is that even gonna work?”

“Well, obviously they would try to hunt us down to shut us up. So, we’re going to be one step ahead of them and get to them first.”

“How? How would we know where they are?”

"Well, they're bound to start a bounty hunt chase for us, so I'm suggesting that we set up traps online and around Seoul so we'd know first."

"I think that's doable." Kun acknowledges. "But we need time to prepare this."

“I’m thinking of using our names from the protection program to throw them off for a bit.”

“But the public knows our faces already.” Mark interrupts.

“Not all of us.” Johnny speaks up for the first time. “For example, no one knows what Ten looks like. People just know him as _Terabyte._ ”

“Hm, that is true.” Mark agrees.

“Are there any members that haven’t been known publicly?” Yuta asks to the group.

“Sicheng, Yangyang, Ten, and Haechan.” Taeil simply states. “Since they mostly do back end work, they’re always away from the public’s eyes.”

“Then let’s have them appear on the video. Let’s all meet in Seoul once everything has been prepared.” Taeyong concludes.

“Okay, I’ll set up a fake account where we can upload the video from. Then I’ll have Hendery set up an extra multi-layer firewall in all our servers just in case they locate us first.” Kun adds.

“That’ll be great, Kun!”

“I’ll send some extra men and a new batch of guns to Seoul for extra protection especially to those who’ll appear on the video.” Yuta offers.

“Then, I’ll have Lucas and Doyoung with me to Las Vegas to get us our funds.” Johnny adds.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary though. This seems like a quick mission if you ask me.” Taeil interjects.

“You never know, hyung. If they somehow catch one of us and demands a ransom, then what?”

“Hm, I agree. It’s best that we’re prepared.” Taeyong agrees.

“Now that I think about it, I think we can pull this off.” Mark comments.

“Of course, we can. Was there anything that we couldn’t do before?”

“Don’t get too complacent, Taeyong – ah. There are still risks to this mission despite it being too easy. Nothing is ever easy as it seems.” Taeil warns.

“Yes, hyung. That’s why we’re coming prepared, aren’t we?”

“Spare me your ego, Lee Taeyong.”

“Well,” Taeyong dismisses Taeil’s jab. “Now that we’ve covered some grounds, let’s wrap this meeting up since I know you’re all busy. Let’s meet again in two weeks’ time for updates, okay?” The rest of the group replies in a chorus of yes to acknowledge Taeyong’s order. “Ah, Johnny, stay behind, will you? We still have yours to sort out.”

“Okay.” Johnny replies. Kun, Yuta, and Mark hangs up on the conference call until only Johnny’s face can be seen on the screen.

“Updates. What’s going on?”

“Not much has happened since we last talked. I’ve recruited some local thugs to do the dealings for us, so hopefully that works out. Then, there’s Jaehyun’s plan of buying first before they can pick.”

“Concrete plans.” Taeyong corrects himself.

“That’s all I have for now.” Johnny confesses.

“You can’t think of anything else? Johnny, Chicago is our biggest playing field!” Taeil yells.

“And I’m doing the best I can, alright? Yelling at me won’t change the circumstance!”

“He’s right, hyung. Calm down.” Taeyong soothes the eldest. “There’s gotta be a reason for the sudden drop, right? Aren’t there any rival mafias there that’s spreading some bad words towards us?”

“I doubt it. With Jaehyun’s market alone, we occupy about ninety percent of Chicago already. There’s no more space for any mafia to brew up here.”

“Then what? Inside job? Is someone messing with our statistics?”

“I’ve had Ten review the data about a hundred times already before we sent it to Doyoung. We’re really losing sales.”

“Hm, this is a problem.”

“Yeah, a very annoying one.” Johnny adds. “But hopefully, it all works out soon.”

“I’m giving you until the end of the year. If that doesn’t work, pull out the heroin trade and find an alternative to make up for the loss of sales.” Taeil concludes.

“Yes, hyung. I’ll do that.”

“Okay, but all business aside, are you okay, Johnny – ah?” Taeyong asks, his leader vibe long gone. “You don’t look like you’ve been getting enough sleep.” He observes.

“I’m fine. Besides, I can’t even get a wink of sleep without thinking about this issue at hand.”

“Let your subordinates do some of the work. You’re not alone there, you know.” Taeil consoles.

“I know. It’s just that this entire thing seems so fishy to me, you know? Like something’s not clicking and it’s frustrating me because I can’t seem to figure out why.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out one way or another. Don’t stress yourself out too much. Don’t forget you still have NCT to worry about.” Taeyong jokes.

“Oh, NCT. Don’t worry about it. I got that covered. Business as usual.” Johnny smiles. “We’re racking up sales as we speak.”

“I know, Doyoung told me.” Taeyong smile back.

“Well, at least there’s some good news to be shared.” Taeil states.

“Yeah, at least I’m not fucking up on both ends.” Johnny laughs.

“Don’t put yourself down.”

“I’m not, hyung.” Johnny replies. Suddenly, they here a door opening and slamming shut on Johnny’s end.

“What was that?” Taeyong asks, eyebrows bunched together.

“Oh, one of Jaehyun’s lap dogs. Seems like he was looking for Jaehyun.”

“You have a dog that can open a door?” Taeil asks dumbfounded.

“No, silly!” Johnny giggles. “That was one of Jaehyun’s prostitutes.”

“Oh.” Both Taeyong and Taeil say at the same time.

“He was quite popular back in the ring so Jaehyun picked him up and now he works alongside him.”

“As?” Taeyong urges Johnny to continue.

“As?” Johnny cocks his head to the side. A lap dog?” When the two still doesn’t reply, Johnny repeats himself; “A subordinate.”

“Oh!” Both Taeyong and Taeil say at the same time again.

“Then he must be good at his job, then.” Taeyong praises in good nature.

“Taeyong - ah!” Taeil scolds him. When Taeyong finally realizes why Taeil scolded him, his eyes widened in horror.

“Oh, my God that was so fucking wrong of me to say.” He scolds himself.

Johnny laughs at Taeyong’s reaction. “He’s good now, though. He doesn’t do all those stuffs anymore. Now he just accompanies Jaehyun on his meetings and make him coffee.”

“Is he part of the mafia, then?”

“Not yet. Jaehyun still wants to get to know him better before his initiation process.”

“I see, I see.”

“Then, let’s end the meeting here. I still have to talk to Jungwoo about what to do with that traitor of ours.” Taeil concludes.

“Shin Donghyuck?” Johnny asks annoyed. “That motherfucker is still alive?”

“Unfortunately, so. But I’ll have Jungwoo take care of him immediately.”

“Feed him to the dogs for all I care.”

“Actually, Haechan wants to send him to space.”

“Even better. Alright, goodbye guys!”

“Bye Johnny!” Taeyong bids.

“Bye!” Taeil bids as well.

Once Johnny hangs up, the conference room was silent again. “Well, are we ready?” Taeil looks at Taeyong.

“We’re so ready for takeoff, hyung.”

**SHANGHAI, 1:23 PM CST, 2:23 PM KST**

Back in NCT Shanghai, Co.’s HQ, Kun is busy preparing NCT, Co. and The Neos’ data servers for any potential threat. Hendery has been working nonstop in setting up a second firewall to prevent any leakage of information and incoming data traffic that could possibly fry their system.

“Are these really necessary? I mean, aren’t we just uploading a video online?” Chenle asks Kun who was nose deep into his monitor.

“We can’t be too sure, baobei. They could trace our physical address and its game over for us. We need to make sure that we catch them first before they catch us.”

“Is it really that dangerous?”

“Not really. I personally think that this will not resort to bloodshed. However, we don’t know what the enemies are thinking so we just have to be prepared for the worst.”

“Well, is there anything that I can do to help?”

“It’s fine, baobei. We’re just backing up our security measures. Nothing too serious yet. I’ll call you if I need help, alright?”

“Okay, Ge. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

“Sure, sure.” Kun flashes a smile to Chenle. “Oh, by the way, can you talk to Jisungie for me?”

“Jisung?” Chenle tilts his head to the side. “Why?”

“I heard Taeyong hyung had some troubles with Jisungie earlier today. I don’t know the details much but it seemed pretty serious with the way he avoided talking about it.”

“Oh,” Was all Chenle could say. “Alright. I’ll ask him what’s up.”

“Okay, thank you. He’s still my baobei number two so I’m a little worried.”

“Hey! I thought I was your only baobei!” Chenle whines.

“There’s enough room in my heart for two baobeis!” Kun teases.

“No fair! I won’t agree to this!”

“Alright, alright. Fine.” Kun finally gives up. “My dongsaeng that I care about a lot. There, happy?”

“Yes! Very!”

“Okay, go along now.” Kun waves him off. Chenle smiles back as he walks away. Once he was at the hallway, he bumps into an employee.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Zhong! I didn’t see you!” The employee scrambles to apologize, their head hung low.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just be careful, alright?” Chenle dismisses the employee’s worry.

“Yes, I’ll be more careful next time.” They respond, head still low. Chenle gives them a warm smile and starts to walk away. Once he was at his office, he plops down on his piano chair and whips out his phone to chat with Jisung.

bighead1: hey

bighead1: what did u do

bighead1: come on don’t ignore me

bighead1: I know u can’t ignore me

bighead1: u can’t ignore me forever

bighead1: are u srs right now

bighead1: PARK JISUNG

It takes a while before Jisung replies to him

bighead2: sorry I was asleep

bighead1: stop sleeping so much

bighead2: 🙄🙄

bighead2: and what do I owe this pleasure of being texted by Zhong Chenle himself

bighead1: what did u do

bighead2: asking me the same questions twice won’t make me understand your question

bighead1: stop playing around! Kun – ge said taeyong hyung looked upset today at the meeting

bighead2: why would hyung be upset? I didn’t do anything

bighead1: stop lying

bighead2: I’d rather not talk about it

bighead1: im ur best friend aren’t i? don’t I deserve to know

bighead2: it doesn’t concern you so let’s not talk about it.

bighead1: why? what could you have possibly done that got u into so much trouble that it made taeyong hyung upset?

bighead2: im really not comfortable talking about it so

bighead1: fine you’ll tell me anyway in the future. but are u ok now? Is taeyong hyung ok? Did u two make up?

bighead2: im fine he’s fine we’re fine now

bighead1: ok then

bighead2: are u done quizzing me chenle nim

bighead1: yea yea u failed tho

bighead2: fair enough

bighead1: jisung

bighead2: yea

bighead1: pls don’t do anything stupid while im not there beside u

bighead2: and why would I wait for you to be here before I do stupid things

bighead1: bc no one’s going to laugh in your face when u mess up

bighead1: also bc no one can control you but me

bighead2: im perfectly capable of handling myself tyvm

bighead1: u suck at it tho

bighead2: bYE

bighead2: if ur just gonna insult me im gonna block u

bighead1: im serious. Whatever it is that ur doing, stop it before it gets serious

bighead2: yes chenle sunbaenim

bighead1: im dead serious

bighead2: I know I heard u the first time

bighead1: ok I’ll talk to you again

bighead2: as long as u don’t scold me. I’ve had enough of that

And then everything made sense to Chenle. _Ah, Park Jisung, why would you give yourself away so easily?_

bighead1: ok ok I won’t anymore

bighead2: bye

bighead1: bye

bighead1: try not to miss me

bighead2: bold of u to assume I miss you at all

bighead1: meanie

Jisung doesn’t reply again and Chenle assumes that that’s the end of their conversation. He sighs as he pockets his phone again. So Jisung did something wrong to go against Taeyong. Typical. Jisung has been mentioning for a few years now that he’s fed up with how Taeyong was babying him too much. But he couldn’t help but think about what could Jisung have done so serious that it made Taeyong upset. Did he lose his phone again? Did he purposely get discovered by a rival mafia just to piss off their hyung? His thoughts wander some more as he starts playing random keys on his piano. Guess he’ll just practice his piano for now to help him clear his mind. But for the first time in a long while, the notes just don’t come to him at all. _I shouldn’t dwell on this longer,_ Chenle thinks. But no matter how much he tries to stray away from it, his brain just keeps running back to that same question; what did Jisung do?

Kun has expressed multiple times that him and Jisung are polar opposites. And somehow, Chenle agrees. He’s seen Jisung be rude to their employees and the lower ranks. He’s seen Jisung blow up multiple times on multiple occasions on the simplest things. He’s seen Jisung do some questionable things just for the fun of it. He’s starting to believe that the younger is doing it purely because he’s the youngest and he can get away with anything. But was that really the case? Are they sure it’s not Jisung telling, _begging_ people to understand that he’s not a kid they can control anymore?

But either way, Chenle believes that Jisung can still be saved, that whatever Jisung is going through right now will pass in a moment’s time and they’ll all go back to normal. That is his best friend after all. They’re still each other’s pillar support. They’ve stuck at each other’s side for fourteen years and it’s not about to end now. Not now not ever. They are Chenle and Jisung, partners in crime. They are Chenji – a single entity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why or how Shin Donghyuck betrayed them but I just wanted supreme boi to suffer 😂
> 
> Anyway, comments are well appreciated since it lets me know how you feel about the story. Constructive criticism are welcome as well and if you feel like I made an error, do let me know! 
> 
> See you in the next chapter!


	10. Nonstop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I take a deep breath, so that I won’t stop  
> I staggered for a moment  
> But now I won’t get shaken anymore  
> Never messin’ up the flow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hello! Sorry it took a while to update. But I'm updating now so it's all good! Before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUTA AND WINWIN! Shipping aside, it feels so nice to see them together again and that their friendship is still in tack. Despite not seeing one another like they used to, I'm pretty sure they just picked up where they left off and that warms my heart so much 
> 
> Anyway, before I ramble on about yuwin, From Home MV literally broke and the thank you bit did it for me. I am a crying mess everytime I watch the MV. And I feel so pround to see Yuta and Kun in an NCT U video TTuTT SM finally putting their vocals to good use TTuTT
> 
> RIGHT now that I've gone off track, we're now starting to plant seeds for the story, If you've caught on as to what's happening, then please don't spoil! If you have no idea what's going on, that's fine! We'll get there.
> 
> Also slight PSA, there's a scene with Jaehyun with another character and... well, you'll see in the tags. BEWARE.
> 
> ALSO, I am not knowledgeable enough to write a full scene of Lucas playing blackjack nor Doyoung counting cards on the said game. So please bear with me with how I wrote that particular scene. It's terrible but I tried my best *sad music*

**LAS VEGAS, 2:30 PM PDT, 6:30 AM KST**

Forty – eight hours after Doyoung welcomed Taeyong home from his meeting with the inner circle, he finds himself in McCarran Airport with Lucas by his side. They were both meeting with Johnny and Jaehyun for the necessary funds for the mission. Now while Johnny, Jaehyun, and Doyoung are here in Las Vegas for business purposes, Lucas tagged along for some recreational fun, and by fun he meant play cards and roll dices all night until he had emptied his opponents’ pockets. Besides, why would Lucas pass up an opportunity to gamble with Doyoung by his side?

“Alright, Lucas, listen up. Don’t get too distracted, alright? Remember, we still have a mission on our hands.” Doyoung reminds the younger.

“Sure, sure, hyung. Taeil hyung explained it to me again while we were on the plane.”

“You were fast asleep though.” He points out.

“I remembered some parts!” Lucas defends. “Like how Johnny hyung is meeting with Joshua hyung while you go steal some expensive jewelry. “

“Really? That’s all you remember?”

“Wasn’t that the gist of this entire mission?”

“Maybe next time try to fall asleep after he explained everything?” Doyoung tries.

“Ah, it’s fine, hyung! I’ll only be a decoy anyway. It’s not like I’m the one that’s doing the stealing!”

“We’re not stealing anything!” Doyoung scolds. “We’re buying this time! It’s why I’m here!”

“Same thing. It’s stolen money anyway.” Lucas mentions nonchalantly.

“It’s not stolen, you know! Taeil hyung almost lost a leg for acquiring this.”

“But he didn’t and he’s fine! He was even sending me memes on his flight back to Seoul!”

Doyoung is quite appalled at how laid back Lucas was with the entire situation. But then again, he’s always been like this and there’s no point in him popping a vein in trying to get him to be serious. In fact, him being a happy go lucky kind of person was a good thing especially when it came to his gambling since he’s always managed to throw off his opponents.

“You know what, never mind. Just do your part and I’ll do mine and hope to every God up there that we don’t get caught or even worse, die.”

“You worry too much, hyung.” Lucas comments. “It’s not like this is the first auction we’ve been to.”

“It’s not. I just feel jittery for some reason.”

“Eh, you’re probably just excited.”

“I can tell you right now that I’m not.”

“Why wouldn’t you be? We’re in sin city! Everything’s possible here!”

“Maybe that’s why.”

Before Lucas can reassure Doyoung that everything will be alright, a black SUV pulls up at the arrival area and out comes a man clad in a silk blue suit with NCT, Co.’s logo sewn on the left sleeve. He was one of Johnny’s employee and ready to pick up the CFO and the Senior Director of Finance and drive them to their hotel.

“Good afternoon Mr. Kim, Mr. Huang. Welcome to Las Vegas!” The employee greets in English.

“Good afternoon to you too, Chan. You’ve grown up quite a lot since I last saw you.” Doyoung observes.

“Oh, isn’t he the finance manager’s younger cousin?” Lucas wonders out loud.

“I am!” Chan chirps back. “Well, shall we? Mr. Seo and Mr. Jeong are already waiting for you at the hotel.”

“Of course, they are. Those two are early.” Doyoung rolls his eyes. He and Lucas climb in the SUV and spends the twenty-minute ride to the hotel answering texts and emails they had missed while on the plane. Once they arrived, Chan accompanies them to their hotel room on the thirty fourth floor.

“What is this? Lucas and I are sharing a hotel room?” Doyoung complains.

“I think so? Mr. Seo just instructed me to take you both here.” Chan replies.

“And what’s the problem with us sharing a hotel room? It’s not like we’ve never slept in the same futon before!” Lucas points out.

“As expected, Johnny hyung is saving up by cutting down on his representation budget and not his leisure. He sure has his priorities straight.”

“Ah, don’t fret Mr. Kim.” Chan reassures. “This hotel suite has two bedrooms so you won’t have to share a room with Mr. Huang.”

“Oh, thank God!” Doyoung exclaims.

“Hey!” Lucas whines. 

Chan opens the door for them and motions them inside. “Welcome to the Empathy Suite!” he greets. And just as Chan finishes his sentence, Johnny comes strutting down the staircase in nothing but a bathrobe.

“Hey! You both made it!” He greets.

“What the fuck are you doing in mine and Lucas’ hotel room?”

“Yours? This is ours! You know how much this room cost? A hundred grand! So, we’re sharing!” Johnny defends.

“And who told you to book a one hundred-thousand-dollar room for the four of us? You couldn’t just book a normal hotel room which costs six times less?”

“I’m cutting down on unnecessary spending you know!”

“And this isn’t unnecessary spending?!” Doyoung spats back.

“Uh, should I leave?” Chan turns to Lucas.

_“Booking a hotel room for the four of us cost just the same as this hotel suite!” Johnny argues._

“Oh, yeah, yeah! Before they start throwing things at each other!” Lucas teases. “Unless you want to see some drama then you’re free to stay.”

_“You’re joking, right? No normal hotel suite cost twenty-five thousand dollars a night!”_

“Ah, that’s okay Mr. Huang. I’ll be on my way then.” Chan bids before he bows and exits the hotel room.

“Yes, there are! Just not here in Las Vegas!”

“Guys, guys, relax!” Lucas interrupts the two. “Why don’t we just use this time to spend time with each other and bond, yeah? We haven’t seen each other in a while anyway!”

“Yes, thank you, Xuxi!” Johnny calls out.

“Come on, Doyoung hyung! It ain’t that bad! It’s not like we didn’t live together in the past!” Lucas tries to console Doyoung.

“That was ten years ago!” Doyoung barks back.

“Well, just like old times, right?”

“I cannot believe you’re making me share a room with two other people.”

“Uh, make that three since Jaehyun’s upstairs sleeping.” Johnny informs.

“Of course, Jaehyun is here too.” Doyoung rolls his eyes. “I’m expecting a bed for myself.”

“You can’t. It’s marbled flooring. It’ll be too cold.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Fine! I’m sharing with Jaehyun!”

“Fine, fine. Have it your way. His room’s on the left.” Johnny pouts. Doyoung stomps as he makes his ways upstairs, purposely hitting Johnny’s shoulder as he passes him. 

“You’re welcome!” Johnny calls out. Doyoung screams in response. When he got to the bedroom, Jaehyun was splayed out on one side of the bed all curled up.

“Hi, hyung.” Jaehyun greets sleepily.

“Oh, hi. Did you hear us yelling downstairs? Sorry.” He mutters as he takes a seat on the bed.

“It’s fine. I’m used to Ten hyung and Yangyang yelling in five different languages all the time.”

“That bad, huh?”

Jaehyun laughs a little in response. “How have you been, hyung? How’s Seoul?”

“Oh, you know. Nothing out of the ordinary. Business as usual.”

“Taeyong hyung finally has had enough, has he?”

“I guess so? I honestly didn’t see this one coming. Who knew he still wants his vengeance after all these years!”

“Maybe it’s not just him. Maybe it’s about all the other students.” Jaehyun interposes.

“Then he’s too nice to even think about them.” Doyoung remarks.

“When was hyung not nice?”

“Good point.” He smiles. “How about you, how have you been? You haven’t visited us in a while now.”

“Ah, we’re just so busy around here, you know? Most especially now with the situation at hand. We barely get any sleep if we’re being honest.”

“Don’t stress yourselves then. I’m sure we can think of something.”

“Thank you, hyung.” Jaehyun smiles up at him.

“Come visit us when all of this over. I’m sure your parents miss you too.” Doyoung notices the smile on Jaehyun falters for a little but returns it quickly. He didn’t mind it much. The younger probably just misses them a lot.

“I miss them.” Jaehyun replies. “But I can’t see them yet.”

“When we catch them, then you’ll get to see them, okay?”

“Yes, hyung. I really hope we do.”

“Then, go back to sleep. We’re heading to the auction tonight, right?”

“Yeah, it’s tonight.”

“I didn’t think Taeil hyung had it in him to give a gift this extravagant for his mom.” Doyoung confesses.

“I think it’s fitting because the diamond’s name is ‘blue moon’ so his mom is always reminded of him whenever she sees it.”

“Still, it stands for fifty million dollars now. That’s like, his paycheck for a year. It’ll probably even cost more if the buyers are high rollers.”

“Well, its not like he’ll go bankrupt even if he buys like five of these.” Jaehyun jokes.

“True though.” Doyoung laughs. “But anyway, why are we meeting Shua – ssi at the auction and not in Chicago?”

“Shua hyung is on vacation leave right now and Johnny hyung just asked him a favor so we’re meeting him here.”

“Wish I could go on a vacation leave as well.” Doyoung confesses forlornly.

“Me, too.” Jaehyun pouts. Doyoung smiles at Jaehyun’s pout and lies beside him and faces the younger. “I still can’t believe Johnny hyung booked this hotel room. This is too excessive.” He complains.

“I think it looks neat. Besides, there’s a heated pool on the balcony so it’s a win - win situation for us. “

“Really? You’re not weirded out by the sharks by the entrance?”

“It’s called art, hyung.”

“To hell with art. That looks creepy.” Jaehyun giggles at Doyoung’s remark and it was silent for a while. Doyoung could feel the fatigue from their flight slowly taking its toll and he lets his eyes close to let slumber take over. Jaehyun soon followed suit and both of them were off to dreamland despite the noise coming from downstairs. So, when Johnny came to check on them both, he lets out a small gasp and whips out his phone to snap a photo and sends it to their group chat with the caption “small animals cuddled together” and everyone sends either heart stickers or words of endearment. Johnny wakes the sleeping small animals some time later saying it’s time to head to the auction.

“Jaehyun, we’re gonna need your expertise tonight. Shua just informed me that one of the buyers for tonight is none other than Shimizu – san.” Johnny informs when he sees the younger coming down the stairs.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Jaehyun muses.

“Make sure to keep her occupied so Doyoung can get the highest bid.”

“You can count on me, hyung.” He smiles. “I got it covered.”

“Thanks, Jaehyun.”

“Well, if you need me, I’ll be at the casino earning us some pocket money.” Lucas says as he walks to the bar area where Johnny and Jaehyun were at.

“Can you give me some, then? So Taeil hyung can lay off my tail about the loss of sales.” Johnny jokes.

“Why not, hyung?” Lucas adds. “What am I gonna do with ten million dollars anyway?”

“Oh, now you’re talking!” Johnny taunts. “Just don’t jinx yourself, alright?”

“Of course, hyung. I always make sure to keep my word.”

Once Doyoung was finished getting ready, the three of them head to the grand ballroom and Lucas heads to the casino a few floors down from them. Upon entering the ballroom, Johnny immediately spots Joshua by the bar ordering some drinks. He tells the younger two to meet him by their assigned table in a while and makes a beeline for Joshua.

“Well if it isn’t my most notorious employee!” Johnny greets as he takes a seat next to Joshua.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m here on vacation so I have no reason to not chew you up and spit you back out.”

“Well, that’s one way to greet your boss.” Johnny continues.

“What’s up this time?” Joshua takes a sip of his drink. “What’s with the sudden big budget?”

“I can’t really tell you the details. But rest assured it’s nothing illegal.” Johnny tries.

“You’re still denying that you’re a member of a mafia, huh?” Joshua looks at him.

“Like I said, I can’t disclose such information. You’re just gonna have to trust me.” Johnny flashes Joshua a smile.

“What? You still don’t trust me? After all this time?” Johnny notices the sudden change in Joshua’s expression.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.” Johnny starts. “It’s just that this is beyond me.”

“I’m giving you one last time to tell me what this is all for.”

“It’s uh… It’s for Jisung’s birthday next year?” Johnny tries. “You know that he’s turning twenty-one next year.”

“Yeah? You’re giving him a military grade weapon as a gift?”

“Something like that?”

“Spare me your bullshit, Johnny. Never mind I asked.” Joshua looks away from him and drinks the remaining content of his drink in one swig. “The money’s in your dummy account already. I’ll have Seokmin disperse the paper trail so the shareholders won’t get suspicious. Thought I’m pretty sure the chairman is part of this as well.” He mentions as he stands up.

“Thank you, Joshua.” Johnny calls out without looking back up at Joshua.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you when I see you.” Joshua bids as he starts to walk away.

Johnny takes a deep breath and stands up from his seat. It’s not like he has a terrible relationship with Joshua, it’s just that Joshua isn’t a Neo so he can’t really tell him what’s going on. They’ve had this push and pull friendship for years now where Joshua wants to get close to him but Johnny just closes himself off completely. He’s scared for Joshua to get involved or worse, get killed because of him so he thinks that best solution was to just maintain a working relationship with him. He brushes his thoughts away and decides that he really should just focus on the task at hand instead of wondering what’s gotten into Joshua. He then walks back to their assigned table and sits next to Doyoung. 

“How’d it go with Shua – ssi?”

“The money’s in my dummy account already. He’ll have Seokmin do the cover up.”

“Oh, good to hear. I just hope we won’t have to use that at all. It is NCT’s money after all and not The Neos’”

“Right? I thought about that too. But Haechan’s taking a huge percentage of the income for this year already to develop a new type of smoke bomb so we just have to make do with the available funds we have left.”

“Of course, of course. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we won’t have to get to that.” Doyoung reassures. “If one of us does gets kidnap, well, then.”

“Taeyong’s gonna lose his mind.” Johnny jokes.

“He’s going to pull a Chanyeol and start shooting at people with no remorse.”

“God, just hearing his name makes my blood boil.”

“Me, too, hyung. Me, too.”

“By the way, where’s Jaehyun?”

“Oh, he left right before you came. He said something about meeting with a buyer.”

“Ah, he’s already taking action?”

“Action?” It takes a while before Doyoung pieces the information together. “Oh.”

“Shua told me that one of the buyers tonight is a high roller so I told him to distract her while the auction is taking place.”

“Ah, I see.” Was all Doyoung could say.

“Don’t worry. It’s not the first time they’ll meet.” Johnny adds. “He’ll be fine.”

“Ye – yeah. Sure. Okay. Thanks, Jaehyun. I guess?”

Jaehyun, who was tasked to be a decoy, springs into action and finds Shimizu – san. She’s a notorious heiress who buys things on impulse and causes a scene when things don’t go her way. So, to make sure Doyoung gets the final bid, Jaehyun just has to distract her long enough that she forgets about the auction altogether. Besides, this won’t be the first time they’ll meet so he’s used to her antics. And more importantly, people don’t call him _‘Eros’_ for nothing so he’ll be fine.

“If I must say, this dress really looks good on you.” Jaehyun compliments. “But I think they’ll look better strewn across my bedroom floor.”

“Wow, you’re getting bold these days. Already there, huh?” Shimizu taunts. “Who’s with you tonight? Your precious Johnny hyung? Or another one of your _schoolmates_?”

“Hm, both for tonight.”

“Oh, so it’s a special occasion then! A family reunion!”

“I guess you could say that.” Jaehyun grabs Shimizu by the waist and brings her closer to him. “But that’s not what’s important right now.” He makes sure she notices him looking at her lips then her eyes.

“Ah, don’t bother. It’s not going to work tonight. I really want that ring and I mean that.”

“What’s so good with that ring anyway? It’s just a diamond. Sure, it’s a flawless diamond but it’s not that pretty.” Jaehyun snakes his arms on her waist, securing her in place. Surprisingly, Shimizu leans closer to him.

“It’s a one of a kind diamond and the fact that it’s a flawless diamond just makes me want it more.”

“Don’t you think that there are prettier diamonds out there?” Jaehyun pauses for a while. “In here?” He leans in closer, just waiting for her to kiss him.

“Oh, Jeong Jaehyun! You’re on fire tonight! What’s with the sweeping compliments? Does your Johnny hyung want that diamond so bad?”

“It’s not for Johnny hyung. If it was, I would be the one doing the bidding and not somebody else.” Shimizu finally closes the gap and lands a quick peck on his lips.

“Then who’s it for? Somebody else?”

“It’s for our consigliere’s mom. He wants to give it to her as a gift.” With this, Shimizu creates some space between them to fully look at Jaehyun’s face.

“Wait, really? That’s actually so sweet!” Her face lights up.

“So, will you drop out of the auction? I’ll be more than willing to be your compensation for tonight.” Jaehyun looks intently at her eyes.

“Ah, who am I to say no to that? That’s such a nice thing to do. You know I’m such a sucker for those kinds of things. He sounds like a nice kid.” Shimizu rambles on. “Sure. But I’m expecting a full service since I was really looking forward to that ring.”

“Of course. Your wish is my command.” Jaehyun leans in once more and gives Shimizu a full taste of his strawberry glossed lips.

Back at the ballroom, the auction has finally started. The bidding price started at forty-five million and Doyoung was already sweating relentlessly. He was expecting the price to start at thirty-five million at least since it was already used. His budget of fifty-five million might actually not make the cut.

“I think we’re about to go home empty handed tonight.” Doyoung mutters.

“Don’t be like that. We don’t know what the final price would be yet.”

A buyer raises the price to forty-six million then another buyer raises it to forty-seven million.

“Why are they adding a million each time?!” Doyoung complains.

“Relax!” He looks at Doyoung. “Forty-eight!” Johnny raises his placard.

“Hyung!” Johnny scolds.

“If all goes well with Lucas, we can borrow his money for the meantime and have Taeil hyung pay him back.”

A buyer raises the price to fifty million and Doyoung just wants to go home already. “Are they nuts? Fifty million for a ring?”

“Come on, this is nothing compared to that weird laser gun Yuta bought for two hundred million three years ago.”

“Okay, but we actually used that for a mission to steal nuclear missiles planted at the Pacific Ocean so it was a good investment.”

_Fifty-one million!_

Doyoung is about to go mad.

“Come on! Jaehyun’s hard at work right now so the least we can do is secure this in the bag!” Johnny informs.

“Oh, I don’t think he considers that work though.” Doyoung jokes.

“True, though.” Johnny agrees.

_Fifty-two million!_

“Fifty-five million!” Doyoung finally calls out, having enough of this already.

“Fifty-five for Mr. Kim in a red suit tonight. Going once? Going twice?” The auctioneer speaks through the microphone. Doyoung was hoping that no one could top his bid. “Going thrice?” The auctioneer speaks again. “Sold to Mr. Kim!” He slams the gavel on to the sound block.

“Congrats Doyoung – ah!” Johnny congratulates him. “You did it!”

“Taeil hyung owes me a drink.” He jokes. “Although I didn’t think I’d actually do it.”

“I think people started to back off after they saw it was you.” Johnny comments.

“What? It’s not like people know who I am.”

“Of course, they do. You’re NCT, Co.’s CFO. One of the best at their jobs.”

“Oh, thank goodness. If it was the other end… then… that’s a problem.”

“I honestly don’t think it’ll change anything. Just that people would be more scared of you since you’re in a mafia.”

“What’s with the weird stereotype of mafia members being scary? Am I scary? Are the Dreamies scary?”

“Well, Lucas is scary.”

“That’s because he towers over everyone. But I mean like, is Chenle scary? Is Jaemin scary?”

“Hm,” Johnny pretends to think. “You’re scary.” He retorts.

“Very funny, hyung.” Doyoung deadpans.

“But only when you’re annoyed.” Johnny counters.

“And here I thought we were friends.”

“Ah, don’t take it the wrong way. You’re one of the few original members who actually have teeth. It’s good because it brings peace and order amongst the ranks.”

“Are you saying not everyone respects the original members, then? That’s a problem!”

“I didn’t say they don’t respect them. What I meant was that they’re somewhat laxed in the presence of an original member and sometimes they even forget to address them properly.”

“Still, that’s a problem. I’ll have the capos address this immediately.”

“Don’t take it too seriously. I honestly don’t mind. I think Taeyong doesn’t too. It just means that we don’t really think of them as subordinates but as equals.”

“Now why do I have the feeling I’ve heard that before.”

“You should. Boss Junmyeon told this to us, remember?”

“Oh,” Doyoung’s face softens. “Yeah, yeah. Taeyong hyung used to mention this to us a lot.”

“And I think it’s a great advice. It makes people want to work with you and not for you.”

“True, though.”

“Then, let’s settle the payment so we can head downstairs to the casino.” Johnny concludes.

“Okay, okay. I’m actually quite intrigued how well Xuxi is going to play with me beside him as if counting cards is that easy.”

“You gotta have more faith in him. He racks up like twenty percent of our annual income. And that’s only for the mafia.”

“Of course, I trust him. It’s why he’s the most wanted man in Hong Kong, right?”

Doyoung settles the payment for the jewelry in cash with the organizers which earns him a ‘As expected from Mr. Kim; always pays in full and in cash’ from them to which he just bows in acknowledgment before walking away with Johnny in tow. The ring, now kept safe in a case, will be sitting prettily inside Johnny’s pocket for the night. They exit the ballroom and make their way downstairs to the casino. Upon arriving at the casino, Johnny immediately spots Lucas in one of the blackjack tables surrounded by a crowd – which is expected. Everyone knows about Lucas Huang from Hong Kong who lives in Shanghai. Lucas Huang who is only twenty-three but is already employed as a senior director at his own company. Lucas Huang who has played at every casino in Macau and won every single game he ever played. At this point in time, they were only a few who refer to him as ‘Whale’ since everyone already knows his name. But Lucas Huang was for the public and their enemies, to The Neos, he was just Xuxi with giant hands and likes to annoy the shit out of Sicheng.

“Look at him go!” Johnny cheers as they both walk towards Lucas.

“Don’t tell me he’s already winning.”

“I think he is. Look.” Johnny points to the stack of chips by Lucas’ side of the table. “That’s gotta be worth millions by now.”

“Well, guess he won’t need me after all.” Doyoung jokes.

“Ah, don’t back out now! The other players are still smiling! They’re probably thinking they still have a chance to dethrone Lucas. Go in there and wipe those smiles off their faces!”

“Fine, fine.” Doyoung walks closer to Lucas and places a hand on his shoulder. Lucas immediately knows who that was and makes an ear to ear grin.

“Oh, I think I’m feeling more confident now that hyung is here.” He announces.

“And what’s he gotta do with this?” One of the player taunts.

“You’ll see.”

There were six other players on the table with Lucas, and some of them have more than two cards already. Lucas on the other hand, has only two cards – a club of ace and a nine of diamonds which brings his total to twenty. This combination alone puts him in a safe zone. But there’s still a lot things to be wary about. The dealer has yet to reveal their hole card, or the card facing downwards. Lucas makes a stand, and once all the players have either made a hit, a stand, or a double down, the dealer finally reveals their hole card – a jack of spade. Their up card? Thankfully a three of clubs. Doyoung sighs in relief and gives Lucas a pat on the back for a job well done. The dealer lost this round and the bet was split to Lucas and the two other players who also had a total of twenty. The next round begins and the player places their bet. Lucas, feeling confident, raises his bet to five hundred thousand chips. The other players matched his bet and the dealer hands them their cards. And as if like the gates of heaven have opened, Lucas receives a king of diamonds and an ace of hearts, which brings his total to a perfect number of twenty-one. And just like that, Lucas won a whopping three point five million without having to lift a finger.

“See, hyung?” Lucas looks up at Doyoung. “All you had to do was stand beside me and I already won.”

“Hey now, don’t say that. That was all on you.” Doyoung cheers him on. “Go get the next round, too.”

Lucas smiles up at him and the next round starts. The players place their bets once more and the dealer hands them two cards again. One of the opponents just took a stand, meaning that they’re already satisfied with their hand, so the dealer moves on to the next player. The dealer has an up card of a ten of clubs. Doyoung takes note of this and glances down at Lucas’ current hand – eight of spades and a three of hearts. He then glances at the other opponents’ cards and three players have an ace.

“This isn’t good.” He mutters to Johnny.

“Oh, how come?”

“Three players all have an ace and Lucas doesn’t have one. There’s a fifty – fifty chance that the dealer’s hole card is an ace or it hasn’t come out yet.”

“Oh, yeah.” Johnny agrees while also glancing at the other players’ cards.

Doyoung bumps into Lucas slightly, telling the younger to surrender his hand. Lucas acknowledges and signals to the dealer that he’s surrendering his hand. The dealer gives him back half of his bet and the game continues on. Turns out, he was right and the dealer did have the last ace. The dealer wins this round which means the dealer wins all the bets.

“Oh, man! That would’ve been bad!” Lucas comments.

“I thought I had it!” One of the players exclaims. “Good call, Lucas.” They smile towards Lucas.

“I know right? That would’ve put a dent to my name!”

“Hey, now. The night’s still young! There’s plenty of time to ruin your name!” Another player teases him.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon. My good luck charm is here!” Lucas announces as he looks up at Doyoung.

“Me?” Doyoung points to himself. Johnny laughs beside him.

“What I’d tell you, hyung? All you have to do is be beside me and we’d win this casino’s net worth in one sitting!”

“Don’t get too confident, Xuxi – ah. You might just jinx yourself.” Doyoung warns.

“I told him the same thing earlier in the hotel room!” Johnny adds.

“Just try to win to the best of your abilities!” Doyoung encourages him.

“Of course, hyung! We got this in the bag!”

Lucas went on to win a couple more rounds before his opponents had either gone bankrupt or had backed out before they hit bankruptcy. By the end of it, there were towers upon towers of chips by his side of the table that Johnny had to go make frequent trips to the casino cage to cash out.

  
Jaehyun was just finishing his shower when he hears the doorbell ring at their hotel suite. He quickly wraps a towel around his waist and makes his way downstairs, careful to avoid the mess of clothes scattered on the floor. Once he reaches the entry area, he looks at the monitor to check who was visiting them at this hour. When he sees that it was Joshua, he quickly opens the door and greets the older with a smile.

“Hi!” He greets.

“Couldn’t even be bothered to put on clothes?” Joshua remarks. “Or was I interrupting something?”

“I was taking a shower when you rang. What was I suppose to do? Keep you waiting?” He teases and he steps aside to let Joshua in. Joshua steps inside and walks all the way to the living area and notices a pair of high heels haphazardly thrown on the couch.

“So, I was interrupting something.”

“We just finished.” Jaehyun simply states. “Hence the shower.”

“Does your Johnny hyung know about this?”

“Of course! It’s official business.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t ask any more since you said it’s official business.”

“Thanks.” Jaehyun smiles at him. “So, what brings you here?” He asks as he dries his hair with a towel.

“Wait, won’t she hear?”

“Oh, don’t worry about her. She’s out like a light.”

“Wild night?” Joshua taunts.

“Sorry, I don’t kiss and tell.” Jaehyun deadpans. Joshua tries his best to stifle his laugh.

“Okay, fair enough.” He tries to calm himself down before continuing. “No reason why I’m here. Just telling you that your package is already on its way to Seoul.”

“That fast, huh? Guess I better speed things up.”

“Yeah. Make sure to pick it up personally to avoid confusion.”

“How about you? Won’t you be there in Seoul too?”

“Nah, I have places to be. You know me.”

“Fine, fine. Always the business man.”

“Well, that’s all I’m here for.” Joshua says as he stands up. “Don’t wanna interrupt your night any more.”

“No time for a drink?” Jaehyun offers.

“You seem busy. Besides, when she wakes up, you’ll have to entertain her again. I don’t wanna be here for that.”

“Rude.”

“I’ll get going then!” Joshua announces as he heads for the front door.

“Alright. See you when I see you.” Jaehyun bids. “Bye, hyung.”

“Bye.” Joshua bids as well. As he was about to exit the door, he turns back around and looks at Jaehyun. “Stay safe, alright?”

“Of course, hyung. You can count on me.”

“Okay, okay. Bye, then.” Joshua says one last time before exiting the door for real this time.

“Bye, hyung!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'll be off to write the next chapter once this is uploaded! As always, comments are so so so appreciated because it let's me know what you guys think of the story! Kudos are welcome too! And if you feel like there's something lacking, please do let me know! 
> 
> Also, I'm thinking of making a cc to anyone's interested so if ever, you can all yell me at me there and we can scream about nct heh


	11. Dream Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time, quickly come in  
> The wind is blowing to my favor  
> Every scene I dreamt of is being played in front of me  
> Tonight will be a movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! Here is another update! Sorry for the long wait. This was a trouble writing because I kept changing so many things TuT But it's all good now!  
> Did all of you see 127's 2021 SG? When I saw it I literally screamed lmao. I was like this fits my au so much??? Omg nct silent readers wbk!
> 
> Anyway, there's a trigger warning for this chapter so please read with caution! 
> 
> Lastly, I made a cc! If you have questions about this fic or even requests about future fics just ask me on my cc!  
> https://curiouscat.me/jeongjaehyeonie
> 
> On to the tags!!
> 
> tw // panic attack, slight gore, mentions of killing, mentions of drugs

**TOKYO, 10:26 AM JST, 10:26 AM KST**

“I’ll be going to Korea for a while.” Yuta looks to Matsuoka, one of his supervisors, as they make their way to Yuta’s office,

“Oh,” Matsuoka looks at him with wide eyes. “I wasn’t made aware of this. When are you leaving?”

“You weren’t notified because it’s a personal trip. I’ll be leaving in a couple days. But don’t worry, it’ll only be a couple weeks tops.”

“Will Lee – san and Na – san be with you?”

“Yes, we’ll all be leaving together. Which is why I’m putting you in charge for the time being. Coordinate with Hitoka – san should you need some assistance.”

“Very well, Nakamoto – san. Thank you for entrusting the company with me on your absence.” Matsuoka bows a complete ninety degrees facing Yuta.

“I expect great things coming from you. Do not break my trust or I’ll have the chairman handle you himself.”

“Of course, Nakamoto – san. I know what Lee – san is like first hand.” Matsuoka mentions. “I for one, do not want to be on the receiving end of his stick.”

“Then I’m glad that we both came to a middle ground.” Yuta concludes as they reached the entrance of Yuta’s office. “Sicheng might need something while I’m away so ship them to Seoul as well if ever.”

“Oh, will all the directors and executives of all the branches be in Seoul as well?”

“Ah,” Yuta looks at Matsuoka. “You caught us!” He smiles widely. “We’re having a reunion of some sort.”

“That’s nice to hear.” Matsuoka smiles. “It’s nice to see your friends from time to time.”

“Right? I miss them dearly. I miss the younger ones the most.”

“Then I hope you enjoy your vacation with them. If I may, I feel like you need it dearly.”

“It’s okay. I know it very well myself. I don’t think I’ve ever had a vacation since stepping back in Japan four years ago.”

“Ah, you should take care of yourself more then.”

“It’s hard when I have two kids to take care of.” He laughs.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. You have to let them go some day.”

“Wish it was that easy.” Yuta sighs. “I’ve known them for ten years now. I know that they’re growing up and they’ll eventually leave the nest, but for the meantime, while they’re still under my roof, I’m allowed to baby them as much as I want.”

“They’re not even your real kids and yet you're already like this, Nakamoto – san? I can’t imagine what it’s like if it was your real child!”

“Ah, I’ve already experienced the worst when I had to part ways with Sungie.”

“Sungie?” Matsuoka turns his head to the side. “Park Jisung?”

“Yeah. He’s the youngest so everyone’s a little too attached to him.”

“He’s very adorable.” Matsuoka says with a tinge of endearment in his voice. “I had the opportunity to meet him when the chairman came to visit us last year.”

“You did?” Yuta asked surprised. “It’s a miracle he talked to anybody else aside from us!”

“He was a little intimidating at first, maybe even coming off rude with how he scowled at us. But after watching him play on his phone with Na – san for a while, I realized he’s probably just not used to a new group of people.”

“Oh yeah. He’s a little introverted.”

“Ah, that make sense. No wonder he smiled so wide seeing Na – san in a sea of strangers speaking a foreign language.”

“He just takes a while to warm to people, it’s all. The first time I met him, he wouldn’t let go of Renjun’s hand the entire time.” Yuta smiles at the memory playing in his head. The image of a ten-year-old Jisung clad in those horrible cream white uniforms the facility forced them to wear, tightly holding on to Renjun’s hand the entire first day. No matter how hard Chenle tried to persuade him to play with him, Jisung just wouldn’t let go of Renjun’s hand. It made sense for Yuta. Imagine being only ten and forced to separate with your parents. Only to be boxed in with twenty other strangers.

“But I think he’s doing alright now, isn’t he?” Matsuoka asks.

“Yeah, I think he turned out alright. I think Taeyong’s doing the best he can for Jisung.”

“But, Nakamoto – san, may I ask a question?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“If I may ask, what happened that made all of you come together like that? It seems like you depend on the other directors and executives much more than normal.”

“Ah, they’re my close friends. I’ve known them since I was a teenager. It would just make sense that I trust them and talk to them as if they were family.” Now when did Matsuoka thought of such a thing? How did he even notice that? But he can’t be rude or dismiss his question. The last thing he needs is for Matsuoka to pull a Chanyeol on him.

“Ah, I see, I see.” Matsuoka replies, somehow not fully buying his answer. “Then why does Na – san and Lee – san live with you and not on their own? Surely, they’re capable of living on their own, right?”

“Like I said, until they get sick of me, I’m babying them as much as I can.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll accept that for today.”

“That’s sounds like there’s supposed to be a part two of this conversation.”

“Why not? If you’re not holed up in your office all day, you’re talking a walk around Akihabara to distract yourself. You need a friend, Nakamoto – san.”

“I have twenty of them.” Yuta deadpans.

“No, no. Not that kind of friends. A friend who’s outside your circle and who knows nothing about you personally.”

“So, like a drinking buddy?”

“Is that what they call it in South Korea?”

“So, you want me to take you out for drinks, is that what your implying?”

“Why not?” Matsuoka teases him.

“ _Rin – chan_ , since when did you become so shameless?”

“Hm, when did I first started working here? Four years ago, was it? Then four years ago, _Yuta – chan_.”

Upstairs in the residential part of the building, Jaemin was busy cooking some tempura for him and Jeno to snack on while they watch a movie. They had just finished packing their suitcase for their trip back to Seoul.

“Shrimp really just tastes different here in Japan than they do in Korea.” Jaemin casually mentions.

“Must be something in the water.” Jeno replies back. “Anyway, can’t that get any faster? I’m starving.”

“Had you bought take outs like I told you to we would’ve eaten brunch half an hour ago!”

“There was a long line!” Jeno complains.

“Like there isn’t a bunch of restaurants downstairs? I’m sure there’s one with no line.” Jaemin glares at him.

“Well, do you want me to go downstairs, then?”

“And let this tempura go to waste?”

“You know what? There’s no winning with you.”

“I’m glad you noticed.”

“Just continue cooking.” Jeno gives one last reply before heading back to the living area.

“You’re welcome!” Jaemin yells at him. Jeno turns back around and gives Jaemin a shit eating grin.

Once the tempura has been devoured some time later, there was a knock on the door and Jaemin nudges Jeno to answer it. Jeno obliges, quite begrudgingly, and answers the door.

“Oh, Haruka – san! What brings you here?” Jeno greets. He steps aside to let Haruka enter their apartment.

“Nakamoto – san ordered me to relay information for you and Na – san.” Haruka says.

“Oh, at this time? Even when we’re leaving in a couple days?”

“Don’t worry, Lee – san. It’s only in Kyoto. I believe it won’t take too long.”

“Oh.” Jeno sighs in relief. “Let’s hear it, then!” Jeno says as he walks with Haruka to the living room. Jaemin stands up and turns off the TV to face Haruka and bow in respect.

“Haruka – san! What’s this mission of yours?” Jaemin asks enthusiastically.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too happy about this, Na – san. Shin Donghyuck has escaped from Kim – san and Moon – san isn’t so happy about it.”

“What? He escaped? How? From Jungwoo hyung?”

“He apparently had an accomplice from the inside that let him escape.”

“That mo – “ Jeno stops himself.

“Have they caught the accomplice?” Jaemin interjects.

“Fortunately, yes. It was one of the lower ranks from Shanghai. Lee Taeyong – san has taken care of it.”

“It was one of Kun hyung’s men?”

“Yes, I believe so. Qian – san and Lee Taeyong – san are currently in a meeting as we speak.”

“I can already imagine the scowl on Taeyong hyung’s face.”

“Kun hyung, too! He’s probably beating himself up right now!” Jeno informs. “We have to catch this traitor once and for all so Kun hyung can feel better!”

“Right! Of course! Kun hyung has done so much for us!” Jaemin adds. “The mission, Haruka – san?”

“Right!” Haruka claps his hands. “One of our soldiers stationed in Kyoto saw Shin Donghyuck at a corner store just an hour ago.”

“And how do we know this soldier isn’t one of his accomplices?” Jeno interrupts.

“He was an ex – yakuza that Nakamoto – san himself scouted. Their loyalty lies to Nakamoto – san only.”

“Right! Okay!”

“Koushi – san and I believe that sneaking up on him is the best way to capture him and eliminate him for good.”

“We’re not taking him back to Seoul?”

“Kim – san has had enough of his games and has ordered to eliminate on sight if needed so.”

“Cool. We’ll do just that.” Jaemin concludes.

“However, Nakamoto – san did have a favor to ask you both.”

“Oh?” Jaemin tilts his head to the side. “All of a sudden?”

“Na – san, do you remember Shotaro – chan?”

“Who’s he?”

“Have I not introduced him to you, yet?”

“No? How about you, Jeno – ah?”

“Not really?” Jeno looks at Haruka confused.

“Oh, dear. Oh, no.” Haruka grabs at his hair. “This is bad. How I could I forget? Nakamoto – san is going to kill me! No, worse! He’s going to – “

“Hey! Hey! Relax, Haruka – san! It’s okay! We won’t tell Yuta hyung.” Jaemin tries to calm down Haruka. “Your secret is safe with us.” He smiles.

“Na – san, Lee – san, My apologies for my incompetency.” Haruka gets into a _dogeza_ position before Jaemin kneels down in front of him and lifts his shoulders up.

“Ah, no need for that, Haruka – san. Really, it’s okay. What’s this about Shotaro, then?”

“Oh, Shotaro – chan. Yes, yes!” Haruka’s face lighten up again. “Nakamoto – san wants you to take him for a field trip and let him come with you to Kyoto.”

“What?” Both Jeno and Jaemin say at the same time.

“There’s no need for that!” Jaemin starts. “Jeno and I are good on our own. Besides, we don’t know what’s Donghyuck’s thinking right now or who’s he in cahoots with.”

“But this is Nakamoto – san’s orders, not mine.”

“Jeno! Call Yuta hyung right now!” He looks to Jeno then to Haruka again. “What if he gets killed? I’m in no way capable of taking care for another being!”

“Hold on, he’s not picking up!” Jeno informs. “Where is he, Haruka – san?”

“He should be in his office if I’m not mistaken.”

Jeno and Jaemin give each other a glance before nodding in understanding.

“Yuta hyung!” Jaemin barges into Yuta’s office with Jeno and Haruka in tow. “Why do I have to bring a newbie to a mission as dangerous as this?”

“Oh, Jaemin – ah. Good timing! This is Shotaro – chan!” Yuta points his hand to Shotaro’s general direction.

“Hello! My name is Osaki Shotaro.” Shotaro greets as he bows.

“Oh, hello.” Jaemin deadpans as he scans Shotaro from top to bottom.

“It’s good that you’re here so you can all be friends! Take care of him when you go to Kyoto. Jungwoo wants news by tomorrow afternoon.” Yuta informs.

“That’s the thing! You expect me and Jeno to do a good job while babysitting?”

“Oh, I won’t interfere with your mission, Na – san!” Shotaro speaks up. “I’ll mostly just be observing.”

“That’s distracting.”

“Be nice, Jaemin – ah! He was the top trainee and Sugawara – san has given me nothing but good words for him. I think he’s ready.”

“And what if he gets hurt?”

“Like you’ll let anything happen to him!” Yuta points out.

“Hyung, I’m sure you know the difference between him and someone’s I’ve known for ten years, right?”

“What’s the difference with that? Can’t you look out for a new comrade? Besides, Shotaro will most likely climb the ranks in no time with his skills so you’ll still get to see more of him in the future. If all goes well with this mission, I might even commend him to the other capos.”

“ _Jaeminie_ , I think we should let Yuta hyung have his way. I mean, I don’t think he’ll let Shotaro here come with us if he thinks he’ll only be a liability.” Jeno says softly.

“Right? What Jeno said!” Yuta looks at Jaemin expectantly. “Besides, he’s the same age as you two so you’ll get along just fine! Haruka – san!” Yuta calls out to Haruka.

“Yes, Nakamoto – san?” He replies as walks forward.

“Tell them the rest of the details since Shotaro is here as well!”

“Right! Like I was saying, a soldier saw him in a corner store about an hour ago in Ukyo – ku. We’re still awaiting additional information about his current location but we think it’s best that you head there immediately.”

“Okay, but how did he really escape? How could he even leave Jungwoo hyung’s dungeon?” Jeno wonders out loud.

“Dungeon?” Shotaro repeats.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not really a dungeon. Just a warehouse where we keep all our, uh, how do I say this? Traitors, I guess?”

“Oh!”

“We don’t really have a dungeon.” Jeno flashes Shotaro his famous eye smile. And surprisingly, Shotaro does the same.

“That’s cute.” Yuta mutters. “There was a traitor amongst the lower ranks that came from Shanghai. Apparently, it was one of Kun’s men. But luckily Taeyong managed to sniff them out and get rid of them.

“So Donghyuck fled to Kyoto?”

“I think they were both supposed to run away to Kyoto together to plan their next move.”

“But why here of all places? Don’t they know we have men all over Japan?”

“Hey, just be glad he’s still dumb as fuck after all these years! He could’ve run away to some place uncharted like Malaysia or the Philippines but he chose Japan.”

“True though. That’s less work for us.”

“Okay, I’ll have Haruka text you the other details later. But you need to catch that next flight to Kyoto right away if we’re gonna catch this bastard.” Yuta instructs. “I expect you three to pull this off flawlessly, alright? Taeyong’s counting on us.”

“Of course, hyung!” Jeno replies as he bows curtly.

“Yes, Nakamoto – san!” Shotaro does the same.

And when Jaemin was still unmoving from his spot, Yuta gives him a questioning look. “Jaemin? Are you on board with this?”

“What? Yeah. Sorry, was just thinking.”

“Can it wait till later?”

“Yeah, of course.” Jaemin dismisses. “We’ll be on our way then.” Jaemin bows to Yuta then to Haruka.

“If you’ll excuse us.” Jeno adds as he and Shotaro bows as well and the three of them exit the room. Once the door has closed and Haruka is sure the three are out of earshot, he looks to Yuta.

“Nakamoto – san, how did they found out that Shin Donghyuck has escaped?”

“Oh, that. Apparently, when Jungwoo came in last night to give the bastard his dinner, he wasn’t in his room anymore. He turned that warehouse upside down and came up empty. That’s when he knew he had escaped.”

“I’m guessing Moon – san wasn’t happy about the news.”

“Oh yeah, definitely! He threw a fit and started yelling at Jungwoo for doing a terrible job. Had it not been for Taeyong showing up at the warehouse an hour later, Jungwoo would have bled his ears out with how Taeil hyung was yelling at him.”

“That’s terrible. Moon – san is quite scary when he’s angry.”

“Tell me about it.” Yuta rolls his eyes. “He was always on my ass back when we were teenagers. Never really allowed me to have fun.”

“I’m sure he was just looking out for all of you.”

“No, he wasn’t! He was being an ass and he knows it! He purposely kills the mood for everyone! That’s just how he is!”

“But you still treat him as your friend, regardless.” Haruka points out.

“Unfortunately, so. I love that angry man to death so much that I’d take a bullet for him.”

“That’s very heroic of you, Nakamoto – san.”

“Right? I didn’t think I had it in me to be this mushy. But ever since my skull got cracked open, I think I became soft for all twenty of them. Heck, I’m even doting on Jeno and Jaemin as we speak!”

“And that’s fine! There’s no need to be ashamed of showing some paternal love to your comrades.”

“You know me so well, Haruka – san.” Yuta comments, smiling up at his made man.

“Well, we were childhood friends, so I guess I do?”

Two hours later at Osaka International Airport, Jaemin, Jeno, and Shotaro step foot into the arrival area and head straight for the exit. But alas, it proves to be not so easy when a swarm of photographers caught onto them and started to crowd around them.

“Lee – san! Can you tell us NCT’s future plans?’

“Is it true that your company is developing a new type of computer hybrid?”

“Are you opening a new branch soon?”

“Can you tell us how it’s like being so young and successful?”

Jeno and Jaemin tried to ignore the questions being thrown at them, tried to walk past them as quickly as they could without seeming rude. Jaemin flashed them a smile, hoping it would do the trick, but all it did was more photos being snapped and more questions being asked. Shotaro, on the other hand, stayed behind and was looking at it from a third person’s point of view. He was new to it all; the missions, the weapons, the techs, even to the limelight. He starts to wonder how Jeno and Jaemin managed through this. How they balance having a career and a private life. How they manage to separate their personalities between being directors and mafia members. He was so shaken up that he didn’t notice that Jeno and Jaemin had already managed to snake their way out of the place. He quickly snaps back into his senses and walks past the photographers. It seemed like they didn’t pick up that he came along with the two and managed to weave through the commotion peacefully. Once he reached outside, Jeno and Jaemin were nowhere to be seen until a window was rolled down and out popped Jeno’s smiling face waving him at him to come inside. He sighs in relief and walks towards the SUV. Once inside, Jeno quickly apologizes to him about being left alone.

“Sorry, it gets kinda hectic around airports. But everywhere else is pretty much chill.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Shotaro smiles. “I’m actually impressed that you both managed that situation really professionally.”

“Hey, we’ve been at this for a while now, yeah? You just get used to things.”

“So, where are we headed now?”

“Our hotel in Kyoto. We’ll just leave our stuff there and then head out.”

“Haruka – san said that Donghyuck is somewhere in Fushimi – ku right now. He’s probably looking for a place to hide which is why he’s not staying in one place for too long. We can even say that he knows we’re after him.” Jaemin informs the two. “We need to move quickly and quietly. We can’t trust anybody else but us three. We have to assume that every member we see on the streets is our enemy.”

“That’s right! And always be on high alert! Don’t get sidetracked and focus on the mission.” Jeno adds.

“Yes, I understand.” Shotaro puts on a serious face. “Though I have a question.”

“What is it?” Jeno looks at him.

“What does Shin Donghyuck look like?”

“Has… has Yuta hyung not showed his picture to you?” Jaemin looks at Shotaro with disbelief.

“No?” Shotaro shakes his head. “I don’ think the has.”

“Of course, he hasn’t. No wonder him and Haruka – san are friends.” Jeno comments. “This is what he looks like.” Jeno pulls up his phone and shows Shotaro a picture of Donghyuck to Shotaro.

“Oh, I see. Okay. I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for him.”

“You should. You’re our best bet on this since he doesn’t know you yet. We can still have the element of surprise with him.”

“Is that why Nakamoto – san let me come?”

“Highly likely.” Jaemin replies.

“As expected, he was one step ahead of us.” Jeno looks at Jaemin. Jaemin just looks at the window. He knows Jeno was right.

“Then, can I ask what did he do to betray the mafia?” Shotaro looks at Jeno.

“He was in charge of supplying the lower ranks with the techs coming from Shanghai but instead of giving it to them, he’s selling it to the black market.”

“And it went unnoticed?”

“Yeah. His accomplice, the one Taeyong hyung took care of, was the supplier working directly under Sicheng hyung so he was able to hide the truth.”

“That’s messed up.” Shotaro blurts out.

“It is.” Jaemin interjects. “He was earning millions off of our techs that could’ve been used for good.”

“I guess, even in a mafia, there will always be someone who will betray them.”

“Thankfully, he’s just a soldier. Imagine if he was one of the higher ups. It would cause irreversible damage.”

Once they had arrived at their hotel, they each get a room for themselves and decided to meet at the lobby right after settling down their stuff. Thirty minutes later, they were already out and about and walking the streets of Nakagyo – ku and on their way to Fushimi – ku.

_“Jaemin – ah, can you hear me?”_

“Hyung?” Jaemin grazes the pad of his index finger over his ear comm, not fully believing who was on the other line.

_“Can you hear me properly?”_

“Yeah, I can hear you loud and clear.”

_“How about you Jeno – ah, Shotaro – ah?”_

“Loud and clear, hyung.” Jeno smiles.

“Uh, who are you?” Shotaro asks dumbfounded.

_“Oh, have I not introduced myself yet to you? I’m Hendery and I’ll be your eyes and ears for this mission.”_

“Hendery – san? How come I don’t know who you are?” Shotaro asks, confused.

Hendery laughs adorably at the new recruit _. “It’s ‘cause I’m not from there. I’m actually in Shanghai right now. I don’t usually do support during missions but Kun – ge is in a meeting right now with Taeyong hyung and Taeil hyung so I’ll take over for him.”_

“Hasn’t he been in that meeting since this morning?”

_“Well, Taeil hyung has a lot to say to Kun – ge.”_

“Ah.” Jeno simply replies, fully understanding what Hendery meant.

_“Okay, so from the intel we gathered it seems like he’s still in Fushimi – ku. Although we can’t say for sure if he’ll stay there for long. So, I suggest you three head there first to see if you if you find traces of him.”_

“Okay, right away, hyung.” Jaemin replies. “Ah, hyung, is it safe enough to ride public transport?”

_“That’s actually a lot better than hailing a cab. More witnesses mean more liability on his part.”_

“Okay, got it.” Jaemin looks at Jeno and Shotaro. “Alright, let’s split up. I’ll take north and east, Jeno you take south, Shotaro you take west. When we find him, we comm each other immediately and eliminate on the spot, no delays. Understood?”

“Yes, Jaemin.” Jeno nods in acknowledgement.

“Yes, Na – san.” Shotaro bows a little.

 _“Wow, look at you, Jaemin – ah. Is this how you are at missions?”_ Hendery’s voice booms through their comms.

“He’s very serious during missions.” Jeno comments.

_“Well, as one should be. Alright, let’s get into action and hopefully catch him! Yo, dream!”_

“Jjeoreo juja, fighting!” Jaemin and Jeno cheer back. Shotaro looks at them both like they grew ten heads.

“Ah, this is our chant within ourselves. Mark hyung came up with it.” Jeno informs.

Shotaro forms an “O” with his mouth. “Ah, okay then.” He smiles.

The three of them make their way to the bus stop across the street and wait for the bus to arrive. While waiting, Jaemin discusses the possible places where Donghyuck might be. He instructs Shotaro to leave no stone unturned during his search; double check everything and verify his findings. Shotaro nods along while also taking note of the important things Jaemin was telling him. The bus arrives and the three of them climb aboard. They hop off at Momoyama Castle and make it their kilometer zero for their search. The three separate as Jeno deems it would be much faster this way.

They scour Fushimi – ku relentlessly. Going into restaurants, shopping centers, even bath houses just to find him. But unfortunately, they turn up empty. It was around one am when Jaemin reached through them telling them that they should call it a day and head back. Jeno and Shotaro agrees and the three retreat to their hotel room to get some shut eye. It wasn’t that Donghyuck was hard to find, but there were only three of them responsible for searching an entire city. It could be that by the time they get to a certain location, Donghyuck would’ve walked to someplace else. And they couldn’t even rely on their techs in fear of being found out. Donghyuck may have been dumb enough to fled to Japan, but he still knows how The Neos’ operate like the back of his hand.

It was around five am when Jeno got woken up by a knock on his hotel room door. He gets up lazily and answers his door. When he sees that it was Jaemin, he runs a hand through his face and walks back to his bed. Jaemin trails behind him and sits on the edge of his bed.

“What brings you here?” He asks as he wraps the blanket around him again.

“Time to get up. We need to start searching again.”

“Can’t it wait? I’m still tired.”

“You can be tired when we finish this goose chase. “

“No.” He says as he buries his head under his pillow.

“Stop being so whiny!” Jaemin scolds as he lifts the pillow up.

“I’ve only been asleep for four hours!” Jeno argues back.

“You’ve slept for less!”

“Five more minutes.” He pleads.

“We don’t have five minutes. Donghyuck could be boarding the next flight to Shanghai right now and it’s game over for us.”

“Ugh! Fine!” Jeno complies as he sits up.

“Come downstairs for breakfast.” Jaemin instructs as he leaves the room.

It was past six am when the three of them were out in the streets of Ukyo – ku this time in search of Donghyuck. It was starting to drag on, and it was already taking its toll on Jaemin. He’s been through a lot more excruciating missions in the past, but somehow, this was the worst. It was the fact that his hyungs were counting on them to catch this traitor tied together with the responsibility of taking care of a newbie. This was the worst, and it’s only the second day.

“Alright, how about today we search for more unusual places? Like gift shops or hair salons.” Jaemin looks at the other two.

“We could try that. Hopefully we find him today or else it’ll be Jungwoo hyung screaming in our ears soon.” Jeno replies.

“Who’s _Jungwoo hyung?_ ” Shotaro asks aloud.

“He’s the mafia’s lead assassin.” Jaemin supplies. “And that’s Kim – san for you.”

“O – of course. Kim – san.” Shotaro corrects himself.

“Okay, let’s meet back at the hotel by twelve noon. Got it?”

Jeno and Shotaro both chorus a yes before the three of them head on their different routes to search. Shotaro heads to Arashiyama station first and checks the little stalls inside Hannari Hokkori Square. He follows Jaemin’s orders word per word and checks out the gift shops first. Once he has completed checking the place, he walks outside to check the stalls outside.

And just like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Shotaro sees a grubby man clad in a padded coat and a beanie buying mochis from the tiny bakery just outside of the station.

“Jeno – san, Jaemin – san!” He whisper yells to the comms. “I think I found Shin Donghyuck!”

“You did? What does he look like? Where are you?” Jaemin was the first to reply to him.

“Uh, small eyes, prominent cheekbones? In Arashiyama station.”

“Yeah, that’s him! Go get him, Shotaro!” Jeno’s voice booms through their comms.

“Okay, I’m approaching him now!”

“Good luck! We’re coming to your location now.” Jeno cheers him on.

“Make him come with you and take him somewhere quiet. Do the killing there.” Jaemin instructs.

“Okay, understood.”

Shotaro walks towards Donghyuck quietly. He wants to take the man off guard as much as possible.

“Hello.” He greets quite chirpily.

“Hi?” Donghyuck looks at him skeptically.

“I’m new here, do you know where the bathroom is?”

“You speak Japanese, though?”

“Oh, I don’t know how to read, actually.” He tries to look sullen to convince the other.

“Ah,” Donghyuck’s face lights up with sympathy. “It’s over there, kid.”

“Can you show me the way?”

“Sure, sure.” He happily agrees. Donghyuck pockets his mochis into his padded coat and walks ahead of Shotaro to lead the way to the bathroom.

“It’s right here, kid.” He motions to the door in front of them.

“Okay, thank you, sir!” He bows to show his gratitude.

And just as Donghyuck was walking away, Shotaro grabs him by the neck with one hand and the other hand covering his mouth. He drags him inside and into a cubicle but makes sure to avoid the CCTVs placed near the bathroom door outside. Once inside, he brings out a tiny knife in his pocket and brings it to Donghyuck’s neck.

“You have a lot of enemies, mister. But you knew this was coming.” He says casually as he cuts along Donghyuck’s neck. The bathroom that was once filled with muffled screams turns quiet as the blood trickles down Donghyuck’s lacerated neck. He takes his hand off Donghyuck’s mouth and checks for a pulse by his wrist. When he feels nothing, he lets go of Donghyuck altogether and lets him drop to the floor. He then fishes for the paper bag containing the freshly baked mochis from Donghyuck’s pocket and puts it inside the front pocket of his hoodie. He locks the cubicle from the inside and climbs up the toilet bowl to jump over to the next cubicle and walk out. He washes his hands to get rid of the blood and the pocket knife as well before putting it back inside his pocket. He locks the bathroom door as well before walking out and out of Arashiyama station.

“I finished the job.” He says through their comm as he crosses the street.

“Good job, Shotaro!” Jeno cheers him on. Before Shotaro could word out a reply, Jaemin comes into his view.

“Jaemin – san, I made sure to lock the cubicle and the bathroom door as well so it’ll take a while before his body is discovered.”

“Did you check his pulse?”

“Yes, there was none. I made sure.”

“What about the CCTV’s? Did anyone see you?”

“There were only a few passengers and they were all waiting for the train at the platform. And don’t worry about the CCTVs, I made sure to dodge them all.”

“Alright, then. Good job on your first mission. Let’s get back to the hotel and head home.”

“Jaemin – san,” Shotaro calls out as he takes out the paper bag with mochis. “would you like some mochis? They’re freshly baked!”

“Sure, why not?” Jaemin replies as he takes one out of the bag.

On the flight back to Tokyo, Jeno and Shotaro were still giddy about his first kill, meanwhile, Jaemin was just silent. Even when they broke the news to Yuta, Jaemin was still silent. Because how dare this kid take away his spotlight? He was supposed to be the jack of all trades and yet this kid just managed to eliminate The Neo’s most wanted man.

**SHANGHAI, 01:01 PM CST, 02:01 PM KST**

“Hyung! Did you hear the news? Jaemin and Jeno managed to take down Donghyuck once and for all!” Hendery calls out as he walks inside Kun’s office.

Kun was sat in his office chair, his hair disheveled, and papers everywhere on his desk. “Oh, did they? How did they find him?” Kun looks up at Hendery. He had just finished a six-hour video call conference with Taeyong and Taeil, so hearing this good news is the only thing keeping him alive at this point.

“They found him in a train station and this new kid named Shotaro managed to trick Donghyuck into following him into an empty bathroom and that’s where he killed him. Boom! A giant cut on the neck!”

“Thank goodness!” Kun runs a hand through his hair. “I thought I was done for!”

“Hey, stop stressing yourself out! We got him! You can relax now!”

“I don’t think I can.” Kun looks at Hendery seriously.

“Why not? We got Donghyuck, we got his accomplice. Don’t tell me there’s more?”

“It’s not that. Just… Is Chenle home?”

“Yeah? He’s in his room.”

“Can you call him for me?”

“What’s this about, ge?”

“I… I don’t think I have the right to tell you this. Taeyong hyung just told me to tell this to Chenle only.”

“O – okay. I’ll get him.” Hendery gives Kun one last confused look before walking out and fetching Chenle.

“Ge? You wanted to see me?” Chenle pokes his head through the door.

“Baobei, come take a seat, will you?”

“What’s this about?” He asks as he walks closer.

“It’s about… Jisung.” Kun says cautiously. Chenle takes a seat and looks at Kun more confused than ever.

“What did he do?”

“Remember when I told you to check up on him because Taeyong hyung looked upset that one time?”

“Yeah? He didn’t say much though.”

“Well, turns out Jisung is suffering from a substance abuse and that was the reason why Taeyong hyung was upset that day.”

“He was what? Jisung? Park Jisung is addicted to drugs?! That kid? That brat! How da – how dare he!” Chenle was mad. Fuming, even. How dare Park Jisung suffer from something this severe and not tell him? How dare Park Jisung keep such a big secret from him?!

“Calm down, Ah Chen.” Kun takes Chenle’s hands in his to try and soothe the younger. “Jisungie has his reasons, and those reason were valid. But now he wants to stop relying on them and he needs you more than ever. I need you to help him out of it.”

“Help him? Why would I help him? He dug his own grave!”

“Chenle, listen to me!” Kun says a little louder to get Chenle’s attention. Chenle started sobbing, undecipherable words coming out of his mouth but Kun knows they’re all words against Jisung. “Listen to me! I need you to calm down, okay?”

“Why would I help him? He obviously doesn’t want me to know if he kept it a secret, right? So why should I?”

“Jisungie didn’t have a choice. He felt neglected but at the same time suffocated around Taeyong hyung and Doyoung hyung.”

“How come? Him and I are just the same! Miles away from home and forced to fend for ourselves! But I turned out alright, didn’t I, ge? I didn’t do drugs or did some other stupid stuff! So why did he?!” Chenle was now full on hysterical and Kun was beginning to get worried.

“You and Jisung might be similar to some extent, but your environment isn’t. You live with six other people, he doesn’t. Hendery, Lucas, and Xiaojun are more like your older brothers than a parent. He doesn’t have that.”

“Still! I hate him! I never want to see him again!” Chenle screams through his tears. Sicheng pokes his head through the door as well to see what was going on but Kun waves him off and orders him to lock the door.

“Ah Chen! I’m telling you, no, I’m ordering you to talk to Jisung! He needs your help! You’re the only one who can help him!”

“No! He betrayed me! He doesn’t trust me! Why should I help him?!”

Kun was beginning to lose his cool as well. He didn’t think Chenle would take the news so tragically. He was expecting him to be shocked and move on. What he didn’t expect was for him to have a full blown panic attack at the mention of his best friend doing drugs. No wonder Jisung kept it under wraps.

“Chenle, listen to me. Try to calm down, okay? Follow my breathing, yeah?” Chenle looks at him and nods. “Inhale, exhale.” Chenle follows Kun through the breathing exercise. When he notices that Chenle had stopped crying, he tries to talk to the younger again.

“Baobei, I know this came as a shock to you. But like I said, he had his reasons and he never meant to betray you. He kept it as a secret because he knew you would react this way. But, he’s ready to step away from this nasty habit and he needs your help.”

“I’ll talk to him but I still hate him.” Chenle says after a long silence.

“We can do with that for now.” Kun smiles. “Let me know when you’re ready to talk to him, alright?”

“I’ll talk to him now if I can, ge.”

“Now? O – okay. Hold on, let me call him.”

Kun pulls out his phone and makes a video call to Jisung. Once Jisung picks up, he mutters a 'hi' and immediately gives the phone to Chenle.

“You bastard!” Was the first thing Chenle said to Jisung. Jisung was taken aback by the blunt words.

“What’s your problem?”

“What’s my problem? What’s your problem? Don’t even have the balls to tell me you were doing drugs?”

“Hold on, how did you know?”

“Someone snitched and I’m not telling who!” Chenle yells back. Kun was surprised that Chenle didn’t tell the truth.

“And what about it?” Jisung barks back.

“Why? Why would you do that? I know we’re mafia kids but think about your parents! What if you die from an overdose? Do you know how dumb it is to die that way?”

“It wasn’t all the time!”

“Really? Then what’s stopping you from getting rid of it if it wasn’t all the time, huh?” Jisung couldn’t reply for a second. “It’s because you’re addicted to it! Just admit it!”

“Okay! I am! Then what? What are you gonna do about it? Lecture me?” Jisung spats back.

“No!" Chenle counters. "You’re old enough to know right from wrong!”

“Well then, thank you for pointing it out that I’m dumb and stupid because I don’t know right from wrong!”

Chenle takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He notices Jisung does the same. Obviously, yelling wasn’t going to work so he’s going to try to use nice words from now on.

“You know we’re on the same boat, right? Away from home, semi forced to live a lifestyle kids like us aren’t supposed to be living.”

“I know.”

“But I didn’t turn to drugs when things got hard for me. Instead, I talk to Kun – ge about my problems. And if he can’t solve them, I call my mom.”

“That’s easier said than done.” Jisung says as he avoids looking at the camera.

“Look at me.” Chenle orders. “Why is that hard? Is it that hard to open up to Taeyong hyung? When you used to tell him everything before?”

“Things changed around here when you guys left.” Jisung confesses. “Even more when Taeil hyung moved out as well.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me? Don’t I always listen to your problems?”

“I figured you had your own problems to deal there so I didn’t bother.”

“But I always make sure to talk to you even when I’m busy, didn’t I?”

“I guess you did.” Jisung finally looks at him. “I just… got scared, you know? That someone would judge me.”

“I’m judging you real hard right now, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but you don’t really mean that. You’re just saying that just to piss me off.”

“That’s true. Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“If I told you that I’m going to be there with you every step of the way, would you believe me?”

“Depends if you’re laughing all the way.”

“I could be?” Chenle laughs for the first time. That high pitched laugh Kun has grown to love over the years.

“Meanie.” Jisung sticks his tongue out. “But thank you, if you’re ever going to do that.”

“Have you told Taeyong hyung how you’re feeling?” Chenle says after a while.

“Yeah, I did. We’re okay now. Even Doyoung hyung. We’ve set our boundaries now so it should be smooth sailing from now on.”

“Then I’m glad. So, there’s no need for drugs now?”

“No need for them if it all works out.”

“So, there’s an if?”

“Well…”

“Not if I have anything to do about it. If I have to stay in Seoul just to make sure you never breathe near them again, then so be it!”

“Oh, would you now? That’s fine with me.”

“Of course, it is! You need someone to take the blame all the time when you mess up!”

“Maybe?”

“Aish, look at you! Fully living up to your title as the golden child, huh?”

“I am the youngest after all.” Jisung grins.

“And I’m your hyung, which you should be showing some respect to, but you don't.”

“It’s only two months. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Kun – ge is younger by two months to Yuta hyung and yet he still calls him hyung! You don’t!”

“That’s different! I thought we went through this years ago?”

“We did. I just like seeing you annoyed.” Chenle smiles.

“Yah, Zhong Chenle! I’m going to end this call right now!”

“Ah, fine, fine. We can talk later again, right? Kun – ge might need his phone now. I’ll call you later using my phone instead.”

“Okay.”

“You and I are going to have a very deep heart to heart talk, Park Jisung.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yes.” Chenle simply says. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Is this the return of Chenle – nim?” Jisung asks playfully.

“Yes, Park Jisung.”

“Fine. Call me later, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Bye!”

“Bye!”

_Beep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Shotaro finally appeared! What did you think about his character? What about Chenle and Jisung? Now that Chenle knows about Jisung's heroin addiction?
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos are so so appreciated! or leave me an ask in my cc! Whichever floats your boat!  
> If you think I made an error or something doesn't look right, please let me know! 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	12. Unbreakable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The broken me who has been pieced together,  
> Unmistakable In the rift, I still cling to love.  
> Unbreakable, beaten black and blue.  
> Licking my wounds, the repeating storyline, we come and go.  
> Nightmares wander at the intersection of midnight, gradually getting farther, can’t look back.  
> Close your eyes, so deep you can’t forget.  
> The unforgettable past will not give up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! Sorry it took so long to update TTuTT Our electricity was out for two days so I couldn't use my laptop to write and update. But it's all good now that electricity's back! 
> 
> Right, who's excited for Resonance pt. 2????? I am literally excited for the title tracks for this album since it seems like a fun and colorful track! 
> 
> Okay, so, you'll be able to know the identity of the gunmen through this chapter. I am 100% sure you'll know by the end of this chapter.

**SEOUL, 1:27 PM KST**

It was a busy day, that much Taeyong can confirm. It was also a special day. Today was the day all twenty-one of the original members would gather in Seoul for the first time in a while. He was excited to say the least. He gets to see his friends, his family to be exact. The people he’s considered the closest to him for the longest time. He knows that there won’t be awkward his and hellos thrown around for them. Instead, he’s sure they’ll all just slip into a comfortable normalcy like they used to. He can even say they call live under one roof again. But that won’t be the case since there’s just not enough space for them anymore. You can’t fit Jaemin, Jisung, and Chenle in one futon anymore like they used to some ten years ago. Everyone’s grown up and while their relationships stayed the same, their physical attributes did not.

Taeyong had suggested that they’ll all meet at Neo Zone to have a little get together before they start with the serious business. And as a precautionary measure, Doyoung’s secret drug vault is locked for the night. Jisung comments that they don’t need to go to such lengths since he had already sorted out his priorities thanks to Chenle. Taeyong makes a mental note to thank Chenle for real this time for his help. Now, Taeyong, Doyoung, Taeil, Jungwoo, and Jisung were all sat in the meeting room waiting for the members to arrive. At around two pm, Jungwoo hears shuffling from outside the door and the first to arrive were the members from Shanghai. Lucas opens the door and starts hollering at the members as a reaction to seeing his friends in a while.

“Everyone! I’m here now! Let’s start the party!” He hollers to everyone.

Kun was the second to appear and gives Lucas’s shoulder a squeeze before walking pass him and greeting his hyungs. “Well, it’s nice to see everyone in smiling faces again.”

“Well, had Jaemin and Jeno not done a good job we wouldn’t be smiling at all.” Taeil snarks back.

“Hyung, don’t be like that.” Taeyong deadpans. He looks to Kun after. “It’s nice to see you, Kun. How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good.” He chirps. And at the corner of his eye he spots Jisung fumbling with his fingers nervously. “Jisungie, how are you holding out?” Jisung looks up at him in a shaky manner and flashes him a lopsided smile.

“I’m good now, hyung. Thank you for being worried about me.”

Before Kun could reply back, the rest of his housemates all clamber inside the room with a noise.

“Ayo, what’s up?” Hendery calls out while doing a ridiculous dance. Dejun laughs at him.

“I thought I told you to leave your shenanigans back in Shanghai?” Sicheng complains.

“Ah, leave him be, ge. He probably misses Seoul just as much as we do.” Chenle defends his ge. He walks over to his hyungs and gives them a hug each before settling beside Jisung.

“It seems like you’re all energized even if you just came from a flight.” Taeyong comments as he observes the scene in front of him.

“Please, they’re like this all the time. I’m surprised I don’t have gray hair yet.” Kun jokes as he glares at the group. Jungwoo laughs at this and Lucas laughs as well.

“Why are we laughing?” Lucas looks to Jungwoo.

“It’s nothing, Xuxi.” Jungwoo smiles back. “Let’s settle down while we wait for the others, alright?” Lucas nods in agreement and relays the order to the other three. Once they’re all settled down, a waiter comes in and serves them a drink for the time being.

“How long do we have to wait for the others?” Doyoung looks at his wristwatch.

“Renjun - ge and others landed just ten minutes after we did so they should be here in a while.” Chenle informs.

“And what about Johnny and Yuta?”

“Yuta hyung, Jeno, and Jaemin are already on their way here.” Sicheng informs as well.

“And Johnny?” Taeil presses further.

“I don’t know. I spoke to Yangyang right before our flight took off and he says they’re still in Hong Kong for their layover. That was two hours ago.” Kun adds.

“So, their plane should land any minute now if their plane isn’t delayed.” Taeyong guesses.

And just like on cue, a knock was heard on the door and in comes Jeno, Jaemin, and Yuta.

“Ah, there he is.” Doyoung teases. “Japan’s most influential man at the tender age of twenty-seven.”

“Oh, stop. It’s not that big of deal.” Yuta suppresses a smile.

“Stop doing that. It doesn’t suit you.” Jeno calls back.

“Jeno – ah!” Yuta looks back at the younger while clutching his heart.

“Come on! Take a seat!” Taeyong chirps at the three. Once the newly arrived hasvesettled down into their seats, a waiter comes and serves them drinks as well.

“Jaemin – ah,” Taeil calls out. “Tell me what Donghyuck looked like right before he got killed.”

“Oh, I wasn’t there. Only Shotaro was there.” Jaemin looks at Taeil.

“Shotaro? Who the hell is he?”

“He’s a new face.” Yuta speaks up. “Although he hasn’t undergone the initiation proper yet. I still want to dig a bit deeper before I make things official.”

“Ah, I see. Well, did you bring him here?”

“I told him to wait for us back at the hotel we’re staying. This meeting doesn’t concern him. If you want, I can bring him one time to HQ if you want to talk to him.”

“Sure, sure. I want to ask him a few questions.”

“This Shotaro kid, how did you find him?” Taeyong looks at Yuta.

“I saw him during one of my trips in Yokohama. He was a little rough when I first met him. But Koushi did a good job with him.”

“Then he must be really good if he managed to kill Donghyuck for his first mission.”

“I was shocked, too.” Yuta confesses. “But Jaemin did a good job too. He led their search and gave all the orders. Jeno, too. The three of them did a good job.”

“Well, once this is all over, let’s congratulate them more formally. This calls for a celebration for another time.” Taeyong looks to Jaemin then to Jeno.

“Thank you, hyung.” Jeno smiles at Taeyong. Jaemin does a curt bow to Taeyong as well.

“What’s taking Johnny hyung so long?” Jungwoo complains. “Can anyone call them?”

“Hold on, I’ll try calling Ten.” Kun offers as he whips out his phone. He dials Ten’s number but it went straight to voicemail. “That’s weird.”

“Maybe they’re still on the plane.” Jisung speaks up.

“Hm, could be.” Chenle adds. Suddenly the door burst open and Haechan pops up.

“Hello everyone!” He exclaims as he walks in. Renjun and Mark appear a second later. Chenle, Jisung, Jaemin, and Jeno stands up from their seat and runs full speed towards Mark.

“Hey! It’s been a while, right?” He manages while being squished by four giants.

“Hyung!” Jisung exclaims.

“I’m right here too, you know?” Renjun purses his lips and places a hand on his hip. Chenle lets go of Mark and walks to Renjun to give him a bear hug. Keep in mind that Chenle is taller than Renjun so the sight was amusing to everyone in the room.

“Ah, look at those kids.” Yuta hums in endearment. Lucas, Hendery, and Dejun all walk towards the Dreamies and did a group hug.

“Yo, Dream!” Mark calls out.

“Jjeoreo juja, fighting!” The Dreamies all yell back.

“What’s this?” Yangyang’s voice suddenly boomed as he walks through the door. “Doing a chant without me?” He pretends to look hurt.

“Yangyang!” Hendery squeals as he attacks the younger in a hug. Johnny, Jaehyun, and Ten all walk inside the room as well and was met with hugs and greetings from the rest of the members.

“Yo, Dream!” Mark calls out again, in a high-pitched voice this time.

“Jjeoreo juja, fighting!” They chant in the same tone.

“Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve all gathered like this.” Jaehyun voices out.

“Right? I think we should make it an article to meet once a month.” Johnny adds.

“Alright, everyone!” Taeyong claps once as he stands up. “Let’s all settle down so we can get down to business, shall we?” A group of waiters enter and serve them some food.

“Kimchi stew! Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Chenle exclaims as he takes a spoonful.

“Right? We’re only serving Korean foods today especially for you guys.” Jungwoo replies.

“Ah, this brings back so many memories!” Ten adds. “I’ve missed Kun’s cooking the most.” Ten looks at Kun.

“See? I told you you’ll miss it.” Kun retorts as he sends a smile towards Ten.

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe I just got used to it, you know? We’ve been living together since we were fifteen until five years ago when you moved to Shanghai.”

“You’re more than welcome to come live with us.” Lucas interjects.

“Absolutely not!” Johnny defends. “No one’s going to play Overwatch with me anymore!”

“Well, there you have it, folks. Can’t leave Johnny’s side forever.” Ten concludes.

“What a party pooper!” Hendery teases.

Once their late lunch has finished, Johnny has decided that they all start discussing what they need to and who needs to do what.

“Okay, so, our first step of the plan is that we film a short video with Sicheng, Yangyang, Ten, and Haechan claiming that they’re survivors from the school shooting ten years ago. This will hopefully draw them out and try to shut us up. But wishful thinking that we get to them first before they get to us.” Taeyong explains.

“That seems doable.” Haechan comments. “Although, how are we going to get to them first if we have no idea where they’re at?”

“They’re bound to retaliate once the video goes viral. They’ll eventually leave tiny bits of information in their hurry to get to us.” Kun explains further.

“Will they really?”

“No criminal would want their deeds exposed. That’s their first priority. I know I wouldn’t want that.” Taeyong adds.

“Okay, given that they do come out and we capture them, then what? Do we just kill them?” This time, it was Renjun who raised a question.

“No. We need information from them as well.” Taeil answers. “They probably don’t work alone. We need to uncover their entire network or who they work for.”

“So, we absorb their network, then?”

“Why not? The more the merrier!”

“Then we eliminate?”

“Yes.”

“Can we broadcast it so the entire world knows?”

“That seems like a fun idea, Renjunnie.”

“Okay, but I have another question.” Haechan speaks up again. “Why me?”

“We carefully chose members who aren’t made known to the public yet.” Johnny looks to Haechan. “That includes you. Take for example if Taeyong appeared on the video, would they believe it? Of course not. Everyone knows Taeyong.”

“So, we’re picking members who are practically invisible to the public eye?”

“Yes! And use your protection program names. That’ll throw them off for a bit. Because only Lee Haechan exists for them, not Bo Du Ho.”

“I mean, I know I always say this but that seems easy enough.”

“Nothing is ever as it seems, Haechan – ah.” Renjun retorts.

“Ten, Sichengie, Yangyangie, are you okay with this?”

“I’m about to become a superstar! Of course, I’m on board with this!” Ten exclaims.

“Okay then. That settles it.”

Three hours later, the members have switched locations to their “dungeon” or their undisclosed warehouse where all the fun stuff happens according to Jungwoo. Ten, Sicheng, Haechan, and Yangyang all doffed their expensive suits, wash off the pomade from their hairs, and slip into a more “normal” looking clothes and hairstyles. Renjun had arranged four chairs for them to sit with the camera’s focus on them. All they had to do was read the script prepared by Mark and look sad. They sit on the chair and Renjun hits record.

The first to speak was Ten. _“Hi, my name is Muk Dae Jung. I am twenty-six years old. Ten years ago, I experienced the most horrific incident in my life. I was in my first year of high school. I was walking to school with my friend when we heard gunshots being fired. We were so shaken up that we didn’t know what to do.”_

The next one was Sicheng. “ _My name is Boo Jung Hwa. I was fifteen at the time. And at fifteen I had almost shaken hands with death when the perpetrators walked past me. There were seven of them. Had I not found a tiny space to crawl into and hide, they would have absolutely shot at me.”_

Now it was Haechan’s turn _. “My name is Seo Chul Soo. And I was there too. I was in my sixth grade of elementary school when they barged into our classrooms. Thankfully, our teacher heard them coming and instructed us to hide inside the lockers. I think they knew we were there. They kicked and slammed their guns to the lockers to torment us. And when that wasn’t enough, they shot at one of the lockers.”_

Lastly, it was Yangyang who spoke _. “I was there with Chul Soo. My name is Jeon Dong Soon. I was there hiding at the lockers as well. They shot at the locker next to where I was hiding. Up until today, I can still hear the gun fires in my head when all is quiet. It’s a nightmare that I’m never going to wake up from.”_

Now Ten speaks up. _“We want justice. Not just for us, but for all our fallen classmates, teachers, and staff. We’re tired of living in the shadows and it’s time we shed light to this massacre. To the perpetrators, if you don’t surrender yourself to the authorities, then we will take things to our own hands. We have witnesses from outside the school who have seen your faces and know about your whereabouts. We will expose you should you fail to cooperate.”_

Yangyang speaks up again. _“All we want is justice and peace. Should you really deprive us of that?”_

Renjun stops recording and the video ends there. He immediately hands the SD card to Kun for reviewing. Once Kun had it uploaded onto his laptop, the members all gather to preview together.

“Wow, this is really good acting, you guys.” Taeyong compliments.

“I agree. It seems very convincing.” Johnny adds.

“Well, you know us.” Haechan replies as he brushes off imaginary dusts from his shoulder.

“This should do the trick.” Kun comments as the video ends. “I’m going to upload it know.”

“Okay. Fingers crossed that this work.” Taeyong looks back to the group.

“It’s going to work.” Kun reassures him.

Within thirty minutes since the video was uploaded, it had already garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments from the friends and family of the victims saying that they will support them for their fight to justice. _Let’s wait a bit more,_ Taeyong reassures his members.

For dinner, they had all retreated to their old apartment where Taeyong, Doyoung, and Jisung live in. It was a sight to see, especially for Jisung to see all twenty of his hyungs cramped up in the eight-seater dining set they had; with plastic stools and office chairs squished in between the dining chairs. Kun, Taeyong, Doyoung, and Jaehyun had all taken the role of the chefs for tonight. It was a special night, a special occasion. Even if they were gathered because of a mission, they still treasure the time they’re spending all together.

“Do you think we’ll get a response tonight?” Yangyang looks at his hyungs while taking a bite.

“Hopefully.” Dejun supplies. “We’re getting views by the thousands per hour.”

“Can’t believe I’m famous now.” Haechan remarks.

“As if you weren’t famous before.” Renjun retorts.

“That was _Cherry Bomb_ , not Lee Haechan.”

“That’s kinda the same thing, is it not?” Jungwoo looks at Haechan.

“I don’t think so. Cherry Bomb is like my other persona. It’s not me.”

“Okay?”

“Ah, just let him be, hyung. He’s just like that sometimes.” Mark teases.

“Hey!” Haechan scolds.

Suddenly, Kun, Dejun, Sicheng, and Hendery receive a notification all at the same time. “That’s weird?” Hendery comments as he pulls up his phone. “It’s an email? From…”

“Who the hell is [agd@sg.com](mailto:agd@sg.com) and why are they sending me a video attachment?” Dejun wonders out loud. “And how did they find out about our work email?” He clicks on the video but it’s just black. He was about to close it when the audio finally starts;

_” You think you’re so smart by getting the public on your side? You think you can trick us into thinking that you can expose who we are? You’re way above your head!”_

Kun immediately whips out his laptop and connects his phone to try and triangulate the IP address of the sender.

_“Just because you’re alive doesn’t mean it’s over. We know who you really are. We know where you are. And We’ll make sure to finish the job this time.”_

The audio cuts and the video ends. Kun was still tapping away on his laptop to try and find their location.

“What the fuck was that?” Yuta calls out.

“It looks like we caught their attention, then.” Taeyong concludes.

“I mean, this is the reaction we wanted, right?” Johnny adds.

“Well, yeah. I guess?” Taeil looks at Johnny.

“Just a little more…” Kun mutters.

“Are we pinpointing their location?” Taeil asks Dejun.

“Yes, though it seems like they used a VPN so the IP address keeps changing every thirty seconds.” Dejun supplies.

“Dammit.” Taeil smacks the table. “What good is technology when they can get away just like that?”

“Says the one who runs an IT conglomerate.” Ten points out.

“Touché, Chittaphon.” Taeil remarks.

“Found it!” Kun exclaims as he looks at Taeil. “It’s in,” Kun looks at his laptop again. “Seoul? Here? In Seongdong – gu?”

“They were here?” Taeyong stands up and looks at Kun in disbelief. “In Seoul this entire time? They were our fucking neighbors this entire time and we didn’t know?”

“Now, now.” Doyoung tries to soothe Taeyong.

“It seems like it. I managed to pinpoint to an apartment building. It’s at the – “ Kun looks at his laptop again. “Seoul Forest Trimage.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Taeyong exclaims.

“Calm down, hyung.” Now it was Jisung trying to calm down Taeyong.

“I am calm! I’m just – just… Wow.” Taeyong murmurs as he sits down.

“But this is a good thing, right? Mark speaks up. “We know where they are now. We can go there now and take them out!”

“Now, now. Let’s not rush things. They just sent the video. They’re expecting us to move quickly. Let’s give them some time.” Yuta instructs. “Let’s do surveillance first. We don’t know if they’ll be there for long.”

“I agree.” Johnny looks at Mark. “It’s a waiting game for now to see who cracks first. What do you think, Yong – ah?”

“I, uh, yeah. Let’s wait first. We can’t be too hasty. Let’s send someone to survey the area and look for loopholes.”

“Then, Johnny hyung is our best bet, right?” Jaehyun looks around.

“I agree.” Taeil looks at Johnny. “You’re our guy for these kinds of things. Bring Renjun along if you need help.”

Johnny looks at Renjun. “Injunnie?”

“I’ll help, hyung. You can count on me.” Renjun smiles.

“Okay.” Johnny concludes. “Give me about two weeks just to make sure we fit in with our surroundings. No comms for us because I’m sure they’re tapped into all the audio frequencies in the building.”

“Hm, that’s a pain.” Ten comments.

“So, we have no choice but to report back to HQ for the day.” Renjun adds.

“It’s so old school but like what Renjun said, we have no choice.” Johnny agrees.

“I can also hack the CCTVs for a while.” Sicheng volunteers. “Though it’ll be really quick since I’m sure they’re also tapped into the CCTV feeds as well.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s do that.” Taeyong agrees.

“So, we start tomorrow?” Renjun looks at Johnny.

“Sure, why not? Kun?” Johnny looks to Kun.

“What will it be this time? Security? Maintenance? Window cleaners?” Kun grins.

“How about home service?” Jeno teases.

“I didn’t know apartments have home service?” Chenle tilts his head to the side.

“It was a joke, Chenle – ah.” Jisung whispers.

“Oh.” Chenle looks bemused.

“How about maintenance? So, we have access inside their homes let’s say, for a burst pipe?” Johnny chimes in.

“I agree. That’s an easy way to survey the insides.” Renjun adds.

“Okay, consider it done. I’ll have your IDs ready in the morning.” Kun looks to Johnny then to Renjun.

“Thanks, Kun.”

“Thank you, Kun – ge.”

Morning comes and Johnny and Renjun head to Seoul Forest Trimage. They enter through the employee entrance at the back, showing the security their newly made IDs. Johnny makes a beeline for the lobby, while Renjun heads straight for the maintenance room. The first step of being a mole is to survey the area and get used to your surroundings. They’ll be here for a couple of days, so they might as well take in everything while the coast is still clear. On the other hand, they have absolutely no idea what the hell they look like. All they know is that they were a group of seven. Guess they’ll just have to rely on their gut feeling for this one.

The next day, Renjun was first on the scene and gets a call for a broken door knob on the thirteenth floor. He gets the job done while making small talk with the tenant, sneakily asking them questions about their neighbors. That afternoon, Johnny was sent to the second floor to fix the broken elevator button. Renjun then concludes that this was going to take a while. It’ll be long before they get a lead. But he knows that a tip is all they need.

“Any luck?” Johnny whispers one time as they passed by each other on the hallway.

“A tenant from room 606 said that there’s a group of some mid thirties men that currently live somewhere on this floor.”

“Hm, well for one, their age matches up to our very vague description.”

“Right? I think we should look into them. Though I still need to find which room exactly.”

“Should I go and activate the smoke alarm for the entire floor?” Johnny raises his eyebrows mischievously.

“That would cause a ruckus. I need to see them one by one. Like a door to door inspection? Like an LPG inspection?”

“Do you want me to sabotage the reservoir then?”

“Sure, let’s do that.” Renjun smiles. Johnny nods in agreement and heads downstairs to the service floor. Renjun hovers around the sixth floor, watching, waiting for anything out of place. And at the corner of his eye, he sees the light flicking on and off by the elevator doors. He observes it intently before realizing that it’s Johnny sending him a message in morse code; _Gas is disabled. Good to go,_ the code read. Renjun nods internally and proceeds to room 600. He rings the doorbell and waits for an answer. Once the tenant opens up, he explains the situation, telling them that the LPG reservoir was disabled since they suspected that there might be leak in one of the apartments in this floor. The tenant walks him to the kitchen and Renjun immediately heads for the gas stove. He grazes along the hose, trying to look like he knows what he’s doing but in reality, he doesn’t even know what a gas valve looks like. Once he seems believable enough, he stands up and delivers the good news that the leak wasn’t from their unit. He bids them farewell and proceeds to the next unit. It wasn’t until the tenant from room 613 hollered him a _“just a minute!”_ did Renjun felt like all the blood in his face had rushed down to his feet.

It was the same voice. The same voice that yelled out; “Let’s go _,_ there’s still a few more classrooms to ransack.”

Renjun wanted to scream, wanted to throw a fit, wanted nothing more than to punch the ever-living shit out of the person behind the door. But he’s going to hold back today and stay professional. When the door open, a man, no older than forty, greets him and asks him what’s the problem. Renjun explains the situation again, and the tenant lets him in. Once inside, he notices six other men flittering around the kitchen and living area. Seven. Seven individuals. This is them. He can’t be mistaken. These are the very same people who robbed him of a normal life and put an end to the thousand others of people.

“So, is the leak from ours?” One of the tenants spoke. He was tall, had broad shoulders but his face looks like it belongs in a magazine cover. Renjun shakes off the uneasy feeling and looks at him.

“Thankfully it’s not.” He offers them a smile. “Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay. Thank you for checking nonetheless.” They smiled back.

“Ah, it was nothing. It’s my job anyway!” He says as a parting before walking out the door. He heads for the stairs, wasting no time waiting for the elevator and went straight to where Johnny is. “Hyung!” He whisper - yells once he reaches the maintenance room. “Hyung!”

“What? What?” Johnny stands up, startled.

“I know what room they are!”

“Really? How?”

“I recognized their voice.” He says blankly.

“Oh my God, Renjunnie I’m so sorry.” Johnny rushes as he hugs Renjun tight.

“It’s alright, hyung. It doesn’t really affect me that much anymore.” Johnny lets go of Renjun and looks at him intently.

“Okay, I trust that you can handle yourself. Alright, let’s head back to HQ and tell everyone the news.”

“Sure, hyung. I’m sure Taeyong hyung will so happy.”

Back at HQ, Taeyong was still busy signing paper works left and right for their annual financial statements. Mark was there as well, keeping him entertained while fulfilling his somewhat boring duties as the chairman. So, when Renjun and Johnny barged into his office unannounced, he ended up scribbling a giant line over the bottom part of the paper he was signing due to him being startled.

“Can you at least knock before barging in? Now Doyoung has to reprint this page!” He scolds as he stands up from his chair. This earns a small giggle from Mark.

“No time for business talk!” Johnny rushes. “We found them!”

“That quickly? It’s only been five days!”

“Do you want the good news or not?”

“So, we found them?” Taeyong looks to Renjun and Johnny as he sits down.

“Yep!” Johnny informs. “Sixth floor, room 613. Renjun confirmed because he remembered their voices.”

“Holy shit, Renjunnie. That’s amazing!” Mark compliments him.

“Right? That’s what I said!”

“Well then. I’ll leave the rest to you, Mark. Lure them out to Neo Zone. Do whatever it takes. Dispatch the Fireflies Squad if you have to.” Taeyong instructs.

“Duly noted, hyung. Leave the rest to us.” Mark acknowledges. He looks to Renjun after. “Although, you might have to sit this one out, Injunnie.”

“What? Why?” Renjun gasps.

“They already know you.” Mark points out.

“Ah, then bring Sungchan with you.” Johnny proposes. “He’s a new face as well. He’d be great asset. Just look at what happened with Dongyhuck. That poor bastard had no idea who the fuck killed him.”

“I agree with Johnny.” Taeyong looks to Mark expectantly. “You can have the element of surprise with them if all goes south.”

“I’ll talk to them about it. You know it’s been just us for a while.”

“You sound like Jaemin.” Johnny deadpans.

“Jaemin sounds like me.” Mark corrects.

“Touché.”

“But anyway, the option is there, Markie – ah. If the dreamies don’t want to, then you don’t have to.” Taeyong reassures.

“I’ll ask them.” Mark says finally.

“Hopefully this all works out.” Johnny interjects.

“Hopefully they haven’t caught on to us yet.” Renjun adds.

“Nah, I’m sure they haven’t yet! We were only there for like, five days!”

“I hope you’re right, hyung.”

“Then I’ll go ahead and tell the squad.” Mark says before doing a small bow and exiting the room with Renjun.

“Do you think they’ll like the idea? I mean I know Jaemin wasn’t keen on the idea when he was forced to bring Shotaro to a mission.” Renjun wonders out loud.

“I’m one hundred percent sure he’s going to give us a scowl but proceed to do it anyway.” Mark laughs a bit. “You know how he is. He’s like an older version of Jisung.”

“Ah, don’t compare them. At least Jaemin entertains reporters. Jisung just glares at them and walks away.” Renjun remarks. They enter the elevator and head down to the fourth floor where the lounge is. Once they got there, Chenle and Jeno were having a one on one race match in Mario Kart.

“Alright, alright! Huddle up everyone!” Mark calls out. He notices that Lucas was there as well.

“Oh, Renjunnie! How’d it go?” Lucas looks at him. At this, everyone in the room looks to him expectantly. He gives them a sullen face, as if to throw them off for a bit.

“Come on! You wouldn’t be back so early if it was bad!” Chenle comments as he puts down the controller. Renjun makes a blank face before flashing a grin at everyone.

“We found them!” He exclaims.

“No way?” Lucas gasps as he stands up. “Did you see their faces?”

“Yeah I did. I even remembered their voices that’s why I was able to confirm that it was them.”

“That’s awesome!” Jisung exclaims. “Are we going to take them down now?”

“Now, now.” Mark tries to calm down everyone. “We’re going to lure them out and bring them to Neo Zone. That’s where all the good stuff will happen.”

“Ah, I see, I see.” Jeno nods in agreement.

“Although, Renjun will sit this one out since they already know who he is. So, it’ll just be us five for now. Unless…” Mark leads on.

“Unless?” Jisung widens his eyes in anticipation.

“Taeyong hyung wants us to bring Sungchan along.”

“Who the hell is Sungchan?” Jeno voices out.

“He’s Jaehyun hyung’s subordinate. Taeyong hyung says he’ll be a great asset in luring them out since he’s a new face.”

“It’s always the higher ups that’s meddling with our business.” Jaemin mutters.

“Na Jaemin!” Lucas scolds.

“Sorry.” He replies dismissively.

“Well, is he any good? What can he bring to the table?” Jeno looks to Mark.

“Johnny hyung says he’s a great decoy. So, I’m guessing he’ll be useful in the long run.” Mark informs. “Hold on, where’s Haechan?”

“Oh, he’s with Kun – ge.” Chenle supplies. “He said they’re working on some tech or something. I have no idea what they told me, it’s all tech jargon to me.”

“Everything’s jargon to you, Chenle – ah.” Jisung teases.

“Yah!” Chenle whips his head to where Jisung is and shoots him a glare.

“Well anyway, we’ll just tell him once we settle things. So, is everyone okay with this?” Mark concludes.

“Jeno, you’ve experienced it before. How was it?” Renjun looks at Jeno.

“Well, Donghyuck definitely did not see Shotaro coming if he even walked him to the bathroom. So, and I will say this objectively; that we should give Sungchan a chance. If Taeyong hyung says that he’s good, then I don’t see a problem. As long as we don’t have to babysit him during this mission, then it’s all good for me.”

“I agree with Jeno hyung.” Chenle replies. Jisung nods along.

“Jaemin?” Mark looks at Jaemin.

“Is my opinion even worth listening to? Jeno just said everything. Majority wins.”

“But still, you have a say in this. It’s your squad.” Lucas comforts him.

“Like Jeno said, as long as we don’t have to babysit him, I’m fine with it.”

“But first of all, I just wanna make sure that he’s not stealing my spot in the squad.” Renjun cocks an eyebrow.

“How can you say that?” Chenle reprimands. “No one’s replacing anyone!”

“But if they get accepted, where will they get placed? It’s not ours, right?” Jisung pleads.

“Face it, Sungie, we’re dispensable to them.”

“Jaemin!” Now it was Mark’s turn to scold Jaemin. “Nothing’s been decided yet so can you stop being so negative? We don’t even know if they’ll get accepted or not. Where they get placed is not our business! For all we know Taeyong hyung will put them in a new squad!”

“Mark’s right.” Lucas agrees. “So, can we please lighten the mood? We’re one step away from freedom.”

“Lucas hyung is right. There’s no room for negative thoughts now. We have to focus on the task on hand.” Jeno orders.

“Thank you, Jeno – ah.” Mark sends a smile to Jeno. Jeno returns it with his infamous eye smile. “Let’s take a vote. Yes or No to Sungchan joining us.”

“It’s a yes for me.” Chenle votes.

“Me, too. He seems like a nice kid.” Jisung comments.

“Jisung – ah, he’s older than you.”

“Seems like a nice hyung.” Jisung corrects himself.

“Me too. We can do to those bastards what we did to Donghyuck.” Jeno adds.

“What about Haechan? Doesn’t he have say in this?” Jaemin asks.

“Haechan is friendly. He vibes with anyone.” Lucas retorts.

“True.” Renjun agrees. “I’m all for Sungchan joining. Besides, he has to start somewhere.”

“Me too!” Lucas joins in on the voting.

“Hyung, don’t you have a meeting with Yuta hyung?” Jisung jokes.

“What? Just because I’m from a different squad I can’t vote anymore?” Lucas pouts. Everyone erupts in laughter at his comment. Lucas gives Jisung a bone crushing hug in return.

“Sorry, hyung.” Jisung teases.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Jisung gives him a gummy smile instead.

“Alright, Jaemin?” Mark looks to Jaemin expectantly.

“Fine! If it makes you all feel better! Sure! The pleasure’s all mine!”

“Jaemin.”

“It’s fine, hyung. Really. My opinion doesn’t matter.”

“I’m giving you five seconds to retract your sentence before I punch some senses into you.” Jeno warns.

“I’m okay with it.” Jaemin grits through his teeth.

“Right, okay then. I’ll tell Jaehyun hyung to send Sungchan over for a briefing.”

They all chorus a word of agreement towards Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! Sungchan will appear for the first time in the next chapter! Or is it really the first time??? hmmmmmm.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Kudos and comments are much much appreciated! And if you have questions, come yell at me through my cc! really, yelling is fine. https://curiouscat.me/jeongjaehyeonie
> 
> See you in the next chapter!


	13. Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who cares what anyone says?  
> We slowly go a bit more closer to touch our dreams.  
> We don’t care.  
> Why waste your breath?  
> Just being next to each other makes me happy.  
> Best friend  
> The days we grew up together  
> The heart that will become stronger  
> The day that will wait for us  
> We will shine the light on each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOO! Sorry it took a while to update TTuTT did a lot of grown up stuff in the past weeks which made me unable to write but here we are now!!!!!!!! I'm starting a new job next week which with a more flexible schedule which means more time to write!!! 
> 
> oh and this is my TMI for today. I started writing this chapter note before the AAA's started and now here we are 4 hrs later and i'm still at the chapter notes. BUT CONGRATS TO NCT FOR WINNING A DAESANG TONIGHT! TO DREAM FOR THEIR EMOTIVE AWARD, WAYV FOR ASIA CELEBRITY, AND FOR 127 FOR BEST ARTIST AWARD AND OF COURSE TO NCT 2020 FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR! 
> 
> okay no more screaming 
> 
> anyway, there's tw / cw for this chapter since there are scenes / words that you guys might not like. 
> 
> right, on to the story!
> 
> TW // mentions of drugs use, mentions of prostitutions, strong language, jaemin curses in this chapter, jaemin opens up about his insecurities, hatred towards another member

**SEOUL, 6:14 PM KST**

taeil_moon: @yutakoyaki @jaejaemochi can we meet in my office here in HQ in 5 mins??

yutakoyaki: im busy

taeil_moon: idc just come

jaejaemochi: can this wait im playing overwatch with ten hyung

taeil_moon: like I said, idc

jaejaemochi: r00d

yutakoyaki: when was he not rude

taeil_moon: do not wait for me to drag your asses upstairs

yutakoyaki: I’d like to see you try small man

jaejaemochi: rip in pieces yuta hyung

taeil_moon: and when I pull out your entire budget for the entire year next year then what

yutakoyaki: u wouldn’t!! doyoung would kill us both

taeil_moon: as long as he kills u first

jaejaemochi: are we really having this conversation in the gc?

taeil_moon: like I care??????

Five minutes later, a grumpy Yuta and a giddy Jaehyun walks into Taeil’s office. Taeil is amused.

What’s this about, old man?” Yuta barks.

“Yah!” Taeil stands up from his chair. “You dare insult an old man in his own office?”

“Now you know how I feel whenever Jeno and Jaemin do it to me!”

“Take it out on Mark! Why me?” Taeil defends himself. Jaehyun can’t help but laugh at his two hyungs.

“You guys are so cute when you’re arguing.” He coos.

“Anyway,” Taeil tries to avert their conversation. “I asked you both to come here because I wanted to meet your new little toys.”

“Toys?” Yuta asks in confusion.

“I think he meant Sungchan and Shotaro, hyung.”

“Ah…”

“I heard good things about Shotaro and I heard that Sungchan will join the Fireflies squad into bringing our targets to Neo Zone. I want to meet them formally.”

“Oh sure, hyung. Hold on. Let me call them both.” Jaehyun excuses himself as he steps outside to call the two.

“I never got to meet them after our get together lunch.” Taeil mentions.

“Well, I asked Shotaro to stay in the hotel away from the public’s eye. He’s a great asset since no one knows about his existence. I think Sungchan is too.”

“you and Jaehyun struck gold when you found them both.”

“Honestly, yeah. Sure, Shotaro was a little rough around the edges, but it’s nothing Koushi can’t polish.”

“Hmm, yeah I agree. Even Sungchan who had a rough start is now turning out to be a good investment for Jaehyun.”

“Yeah, Jaehyun’s doing a good job at whipping that kid into shape.”

Jaehyun enters the room again as he pockets his phone. “They’ll be right over.”

“Oh, good.” Taeil smiles to himself. “By the way, Jaehyun – ah, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead, hyung.”

“Where’d you found Sungchan?”

“Oh, him. I first saw him in the streets of Chicago around two years ago. He was a foster runaway and had nowhere else to go, so I picked him up and put him in the ring.”

“He was… in the ring?” Yuta couldn’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Yeah.” Jaehyun smiles. “He’s pretty good at it, too. He became an overnight sensation if you ask me. I had people lining up for him.”

“Oh.” Was all Taeil could say. “How old was he?”

“I think he was around eighteen turning nineteen when I found him.”

“Oh.” Taeil finally breathes out a breath he’s been holding he doesn’t know why.

“But after a while, he came to me and told me he doesn’t wanna do it anymore. So, I pulled him out and put him in office work. Who knew the kid was an all-rounder? He’s great in the office as well. And sometimes, he even caters to our clients’ _needs.”_

“Well I’m just glad he’s not in the ring anymore. He seems like a good kid.” Yuta comments.

“Me too.” Taeil adds. “And Shotaro? You told me you found him in Yokohama?”

“Yeah. He was perfectly good kid. He was a college student living alone, had decent grades, and was pretty active in his co – curricular activities.”

“Then why’d he switched paths if he had a perfectly good life?” Jaehyun looks at Yuta.

“I think he got tired of living like that. He told me after a while since entering college, he started frequenting bars and got to know some Yakuzas around the area. That’s when he knew about us.”

“So just like that, he left college to be in a mafia?”

“I think so? I don’t know much about him yet. But I’m very well invested in him if I know about this much about him.”

“True, true.” Taeil agrees.

Ten minutes later, and a knock was heard on Taeil’s office door. “Come in!” He instructs. The door opens slowly and two figures enter the room. They were dressed in casual clothes and looked nothing like how the Dreamies present themselves to the public. The Dreamies had always worn the most sophisticated outfits whenever they step out of their homes, always had their hair done by their own stylists, always worn a tint of make up to accentuate their facial features, and always walked with an aura that’s enough to bring everyone’s attention to them. However, these two did not possess anything of those sorts. But Taeil thinks that’s something that can be easily fixed with the help of Johnny and Ten.

“Welcome!” Taeil greets them both as he walks closer to them. “I heard so much about you two.” He exclaims as he shook hands with the two.

“Hello, Mr. Moon.” Sungchan greets as he bows.

“Hello, Moon – sama.” Shotaro greets in Japanese. He looks to Yuta after as if to confirm that he did the right thing. Yuta flashes him a smile as reassurance.

“Ah, forgive him, hyung. He doesn’t know Korean that good yet.” Yuta explains.

“That’s okay. You struggled with Korean too when you first came, did you not?”

“Yeah.” Yuta confirms shyly.

“Right, let’s get into the introductions, shall we?” Taeil instructs. “As you know, I’m Moon Taeil, and I’m the only one with brain cells in this family.”

“That’s so not true!” Jaehyun objects.

“I’m also the Chief Operating Officer of NCT, Co.”

“He’s just using big words to scare you both but don’t be. You’re both taller than him.” Yuta remarks.

“Will you two get out?” Taeil finally snaps. Sungchan and Shotaro both burst into laughter as the three bicker but immediately stops when Taeil glares at them.

“I expect proper manners from you both from now on.” Taeil reprimands. “But given that these two are your mentors, I’m not expecting much.”

“Hey!” Both Yuta and Jaehyun cry out at the same time.

“Right, your names?” Taeil urges the two.

“Oh, my name is Jeong Sungchan. I’m twenty-one. I was born here in Seoul but my parents and I moved to Chicago when I was three. And then when I was seven, they both died from a car crash. Since then, I’ve been with the system for about five years before I was adopted by an American family. But when I turned eighteen, I ran away from them since they’ve been mistreating me since I got adopted.”

“I’m so sorry that has to happen to you, Sungchan – ssi.” Taeil says as he takes Sungchan’s hand in his and caresses it.

“It’s okay, Mr. Moon. I’m not really affected by it anymore.”

“Yes, that’s right! We should persevere when a trial occurs!”

“Ah, there he goes again…” Yuta complains.

“Ignore these two. How about you, Shotaro?”

“My name is Osaki Shotaro. I’m twenty-two. I’m from Yokohama, Japan.”

“Why’d you decide you wanna be in a mafia?”

Shotaro couldn’t pick up on what Taeil said since he was speaking too fast for Shotaro to follow.

“Uh, hyung. I already told you. Let’s give Shotaro some time to learn Korean.” Yuta mentions again.

“Oh, right, right. So, what are they up to now?” Taeil looks to Yuta then to Jaehyun.

“Nothing much, really. Shotaro’s learning Korean.” Yuta supplies.

“And Sungchan?” Taeil looks to Jaehyun expectantly.

“He’s accompanying me at work.” Jaehyun states simply.

“Ah, I see. I just wanna make sure they’re being productive. Can’t waste resources on things that aren’t productive.” Taeil comments as he sits down on his chair.

“Of course, hyung. We work hard for the money we make so it’s only right that we put it to good use.” Yuta replies.

“Especially with our situation right now. We can’t afford to waste even a single penny.” Jaehyun adds.

“Then I’m relieved to know that we’re all in the same page. Then, you’re all free to go. I’m sure you all have more important things to attend to.” Taeil orders.

“Of course, hyung.” Jaehyun replies as he ushers Sungchan and Shotaro out of his room.

“Oh, by the way,” Taeil starts. “Where’s Mark?”

“Mark?” Yuta asks. “I think he’s with the Dreamies.”

“Oh, where are they?”

“Han River if I’m not mistaken.”

“Okay, on the count of three, we’re going to place the sparklers on the ground, okay?” Lucas instructs. “One, two, three!” The Dreamies all let go of the sparklers all at once and walked a safe distance away from them. In a flash, the sparklers all lit at once and a flash of light illuminated them and their surrounding for about thirty seconds before the fire died out.

“Woooooow! Let’s light up some more!” Hendery calls out as he starts to take out more sparklers from the box.

“Wait!” Chenle stops his ge. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat first.” He pouts as he caresses his tummy for added effect.

“Sure.” Hendery obliges. “Wouldn’t want Kun ge yelling at my ears for letting you starve.”

“Hey!”

“Come on, there’s a convenience store nearby. Let’s take a break and eat some ramen.” Haechan proposes. The group all chorused in agreement before they walk to the convenience store. It wasn’t a long walk, and before they know it, they’re piling inside and waiting for their turn for the hot water dispenser. They then settle themselves down at the picnic bench outside overlooking the river.

“Ah, I think this is the first time we’re doing this, are we not?” Chenle voices out.

“True, we never got to do this before.” Yangyang agrees.

“Sometimes I still can’t believe we never had a normal childhood.” Renjun adds.

“Hey, now. Let’s not look back on those years. We all agreed it wasn’t the greatest, but our hyungs did their best in making our lives as comfortable as possible.” Jeno informs.

“I agree.” Haechan replies with a mouthful of noodles. “We owe it to them. Especially Taeyong hyung and Kun hyung. They did the most out of everyone.”

“Haechan – ah.” Mark scolds the younger. “Let’s not count who did more. They all played a part on it.”

“I wasn’t counting, hyung. I was just stating the obvious.”

“Still, don’t you think that’s a little insensitive on Johnny hyung and Taeil hyung’s part? They played a big part on it, too.”

“Yah, yah! We’re here to unwind, remember?” Dejun tries to stop the two. “Let’s not fight here.”

“Agreed.” Jeno replies.

It was silent after that, with the tension from Mark and Haechan starting to fizzle out. Jisung then takes this time to clear his throat and prepare himself to speak.

“Guys, I have a confession to make.” He states nonchalantly. Chenle gives him a look and Jisung reassures him with a smile. “You guys know that it’s only been me and Taeyong hyung and Doyoung hyung for a while now, right?”

“Yeah? Go on?” Lucas urges the younger to continue.

“And I did some stupid things in the past.”

“Care to elaborate?” Jeno asks.

“It’s okay, Jisungie, you can trust us.” Mark reassures him.

“Well, about two years ago, I entered my, uh, rebellion stage, I think? I thought I wanted to get out of this life and live my own life in my own ways. And, uh, I did some pretty dumb things to go against Taeyong hyung and Doyoung hyung.”

“Why would you want to get out of this?” Jaemin looks at him.

“I don’t really know. I guess I just thought that I knew what I was doing. I guess I hated the fact that I was the youngest and even more when people would baby me and think that I’m incapable of making decisions on my own. I just wanted people to treat me like an adult. So, I did a lot of things to prove them wrong. Although some of them worked, but most of them I regret doing.”

“Like what?” Hendery interrupts.

“I managed to convince the lookout for Doyoung hyung’s drug vault to let me in whenever I wanted. Although it did come with a price. When it worked, I felt like I was unstoppable. I thought I could do anything so I took some cocaine and would give them out to parties I go to. I would even snort a line sometimes to praise myself for a job well done. Then I asked myself, why stop there? So, I started taking out the heroin and giving them out too. Then – then…”

“Then what?” Mark asks, worrry prominent in his voice.

“Then I…” Jisung starts, feeling the dread start to seep into his veins. This is when his hyungs will start to judge him for all the wrong doings he’s done, or so he thought. “Then I injected myself with heroin, too.”

“Park Jisung!” Jaemin scolds as he stands up. Jeno was left speechless, unable to look at Jisung anymore. Lucas, too was left speechless. Chenle didn’t say anything and instead looked down on his lap.

“I told myself that I was only going to do it once.” Jisung continues.

“No one stops at just once.” Renjun interjects.

“I know. I only realized it a year later.”

“You – yo – you’ve been doing heroin for a year, now?” Hendery looks at him flabbergasted.

“Yeah, hyung. But during that time, Doyoung hyung found out but didn’t say anything. He didn’t even try to stop me. It wasn’t until when Taeyong hyung found out did they talked to me to stop.” Silence.

“I don’t know what to say.” Haechan says after some time.

“You don’ t have to, hyung.” Jisung replies with a smile. “I had a nice, long talk with Taeyong hyung about it, and he’s willing to help me to stop. Chenle, too.”

“Chenle knows?” Renjun looks at Chenle.

“I did. But I didn’t want to be the one to tell you guys.” Chenle informs.

“Taeyong hyung told Kun hyung who then told Chenle about it.” Jisung supplies.

“Oh, my god Jisungie.” Mark scoots closer to Jisung and engulfs him into a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you.” Jisung then feels tiny droplets landing on his shoulder.

“Ah, it’s okay hyung.” Jisung pats Mark on the back. “That was my mistake and my immaturity getting the best of me. But I’m over that now and I think I’m on the right track to recovery.”

“Still!” Mark manages through his cries. “I’m your hyung! I should’ve helped you. I should’ve known how you were feeling.”

“Really, it’s okay now, hyung. You can be beside me from now on. We can get through this together, yeah?”

“Yeah, I want to be there for you, Jisungie! Even if we’re continents apart, I promise I’ll always be there for you.”

“Don’t be like that, hyung. I know how hard it is to run a company all on your own. You can be there for me when your schedule allows it.”

“Hm, Sungie’s got a point, there.” Renjun jokes. “We have a meeting with a new supplier from Toronto next month, remember?”

“Can you not ruin the mood, injunnie?” Haechan snaps.

“What? Jisung’s got a point there! We can all be emotional when our schedule is free. Remember, we have a company to run and a mafia to oversee.”

“Still! Learn to read the mood.” Haechan pouts. “Jisungie just told us a big secret.”

“It’s okay, Haechan hyung.” Jisung reassures.

“Are you sure you’re okay, now? What did Taeyong hyung say?”

“He was definitely mad about it. But when I told him the reason why I did it, I think he had a change of heart. I mean, it’s not like I wanted to do it for fun. Well, I guess I did. But mostly it was to just piss them off.”

“What about Doyoung hyung?” Dejun speaks up. “If he knew, why didn’t he stop you?”

“I honestly don’t know. I thought he just assumed that it wasn’t his place to scold me, I guess? Taeyong hyung has been the more parental figure out of the two of them.”

“Still, it’s not like Doyoung hyung to just let it slide just like that.” Renjun observes. “Is everything okay with him?”

“I think ever since the heist in Barcelona went haywire, he’s been on edge lately.” Jisung informs. “I think that’s when it started?”

“Oh, yeah. He did lose men there…” Hendery comments.

“But I don’t blame him. He already has a lot on his table.” Jisung replies as he slurps a noodle.

“Then, since we’re on the topic of unveiling secrets, let me add one to the table.” Jaemin speaks up.

“What? You’re not doing drugs!” Jeno calls him out.

“Doesn’t have to be about drugs.” He starts. He looks around the table before continuing. I hate Shotaro.” He states simply. “There I said it.” Everyone looks at him with wide eyes.

“What?” Jeno gasps.

“I don’t like how he just showed up out of the blue and took the spotlight from us. Yuta hyung treats him like a prince and I hate it. And how dare he kill Donghyuck when he has no idea what that bastard did to us! That should’ve been one of us! That should’ve been me!”

“Isn’t that the new soldier?” Lucas asks cautiously.

“He’s not even a new soldier! He’s just a trainee! He doesn’t even have a place in the mafia and yet he waltzes around like he fucking owns the place! And then he acts like he’s clueless to everything but I know, God I know, that deep inside he’s thriving off of the attention Yuta hyung gives him!”

“Jaeminnie…” Mark mumbles.

“Yeah, he’s adding fuel to my fire, can you blame me? Everyone’s expectation of me is always at an all time high that I have no room to breathe! Everyone expects you to be this, to be that! But no one asks if I can even do such a thing! They all assume that just because I’m an all-rounder, I can do everything! Don’t you see how bad that looks? How much that eats me away?”

“I know.” Jeno comforts.

“But not Yuta hyung!”

“So is the problem with Yuta hyung, then?” Chenle continues.

“Like hell it’s not! He’s always doing some sort of crazy shit and expect me clean up after him! I’m so fucking tired of his bullshit!”

“Then leave.” Mark deadpans.

“It’s not as easy as it looks, hyung. I get that you have no problems there in your little territory. But for your information, I also have a position in the company and leaving is not easy as you make it to be.”

“Then tell him.” Jisung speaks up. “I know I don’t really have the right to tell you this, seeing as I did a lot of dumb things too. But if there’s one thing I wished I’d done from the very beginning, it’s to tell them what’s bothering me and meet halfway.”

“Jisungie’s right.” Hendery agrees.

“I think that’s the problem with us. We don’t really have an open communication with our hyungs despite seeming so close with them.” Lucas states. “I get that we all grew up together, but they were still kids themselves when all of this started and took care of us. None of them were ready with that kind of responsibility. They were just winging it from the very beginning. There’s bound to be cracks here and there.”

“You hang out with Kun – ge so much you’re starting to sound like him.” Hendery grimaces.

“But I’m right, right?” Lucas raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I guess. You’ve got a point there.”

“They’re not our parents, so don’t expect them to have that same kind of maturity in them.” Mark informs.

“I agree. Although Taeil hyung does feel like an uncle to me.” Jisung blurts out.

“Yeah? How does that eight-year gap feel like?”

“Like I said, he feels like an uncle to me. For real! I don’t get his jokes sometimes. But seriously, hyung,” Jisung looks to Jaemin. “Talk to Yuta hyung. Just the two of you and tell him how you really feel. I’m sure he’ll listen to you. He loves you a lot, he’s just really bad at showing it.”

“Oh yeah, definitely. I can’t count the times he gave us gift cards instead of gifts for Christmas.” Jeno jokes.

“Older brothers, not parents.” Mark reminds. “Although I do agree that Yuta hyung could use a parenting seminar one of these days. I think he’s the only one lacking in that field, yeah?” Mark looks at Yangyang.

“Oh, Johnny hyung and Ten hyung are the perfect example of mom and dad. Then there’s Jaehyun hyung who’s the mysterious older brother who disappears in the middle of the night sometimes.”

“What?” Mark laughs.

“I don’t know what he does, really! Sometimes he comes home really early in the morning or sometimes he’s gone for days! No one knows what he does.”

“I mean, he’s a busy man.” Chenle defends. “He’s got some business to tend to.”

“I don’t think they are businesses, Ah Chen. What business does he do if he comes home smelling like Victoria’s Secret?”

“Oh.”

“Marketing…” Dejun interjects.

“I’m glad I got assigned in the IT Department.” Hendery comments. “How does it feel to work with him, Renjunnie?”

“Are you really asking me that question, ge? When you know full well what I do in my free time?”

“Right!” Hendery points out as he looks at Dejun awkwardly.

“Hey, you dug your own grave. Don’t come to me for help.”

“But I do have one more thing I want to say.” Yangyang speaks up suddenly.

“Let me guess, that Sungchan kid?” Haechan informs.

“Yeah. Ever since Jaehyun hyung pulled him out of the ring, he’s been following him around like a dog. And I mean everywhere. Sometimes he even sleeps with him.”

“What?” Dejun coughs upon hearing this.

“No, don’t get it the wrong way! Like, they just sleep together. You know, nothing sexual is happening. Usually when Johnny hyung is away he sleeps with him.”

“How do you know they’re not doing anything out of the ordinary?” Jisung asks him.

“Oh, my god! Please don’t give me ideas! I’m gonna hate him more than I already do.”

“Listen guys.” Mark gathers their attention. “I know we all don’t like big changes. But let’s give them a chance, yeah? You said so yourselves, that they’re still trainees so we’re not sure if we’ll get to see them for a long time or not. So, let’s not throw around unnecessary hate, alright?”

“Look at you, always being the mediator.” Chenle comments.

“It’s not that, it’s just, we barely know them and we don’t know what the higher ups are thinking. Besides, I’m sure Taeyong hyung will put them in a new unit or something. Because as I see it, the Fireflies squad and the Moonwalkers squad are perfect the way it is. And I’m pretty sure they won’t get to be a Dreamie anytime soon. It’s been just us for so long. I’m okay with them joining the family, as long as they don’t interfere with what we already have.”

“I agree.” Jisung replies.

“Same.” Hendery adds. “I like our squads the way it is now. Any changes to it would just ruin our workflow.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Lucas exclaims. “Besides, let’s not talk about these things anymore, yeah? We’re here to unwind, remember?”

“Yeah.” Jeno agrees.

“So, let’s make a toast! For finally being one step closer to freedom!” All of them raise their drinks.

“To freedom?” Mark calls out.

“To freedom!” They all chorus.

Later that night, they’ve set up tents at Nanji Park near Han River. It surprises them that the camp site was almost empty. Guess no one really wants to go camping during autumn season. The Dreamies group themselves into two, with Lucas and Hendery, Mark and Jisung, Chenle and Renjun, Jaemin and Dejun, and Jeno and Haechan. They’ve also set up a campfire and grilled sweet potatoes and marshmallows for dinner. _We should do this all the time¸_ Dejun tells the group, and they all agree. At least for a couple of hours, they could be regular individuals in their early twenties enjoying good food and company. Just normal twenty something nobodies without millions in their pockets or blood on their hands. And once this mission is over, they’ll finally get to feel the justice they truly deserved. To be finally free of whatever fear that’s been creeping up on them for the past decade. Not just for them, but for all of their classmates and teachers who died that day.

“Jeong - san, I have a question.” Shotaro looks at Sungchan who was busy flipping through the hotel channels.

“Yeah? And you can stop being formal with me. I’m fine with it.” He informs as he turns off the TV.

“You’ve been in this mafia longer than me, right?”

“I’m not part of the mafia yet. Honestly, I don’t even think if I’ll ever be one.”

“How come?”

“No one wants me here. I’m pretty sure Yangyang – nim hates me too. So, I don’t know. But I don’t have anywhere else to go either so it’s an ongoing dilemma for me.”

“I see. Do you think Jaemin – san and Jeno – san don’t like me, too?”

“There’s a chance that they don’t like you, yeah. But what’s your point?”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to talk about this. I was actually just curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“The mafia has members from all over the world, right? Then how come there’s only about a thousand members only?”

“Didn’t your trainer tell you anything? Not all trainees become a soldier. So, don’t feel too complacent. Just because they brought you here doesn’t mean it guarantees you a spot. For all we know you’re just a toy to them.”

“I’m just a toy?”

“Sure. They’re all like that. They pick one from the lowest of lows and glam you up and make you useful. Once you’re not, you’re thrown out and they find a new one. Probably younger than you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen Johnny hyung go through a new subordinate about sixteen times in the two years that I’ve known him. I’m just lucky Jaehyun hyung hasn’t gotten tired of me yet.”

“Really?”

“Which is why if you want to survive in their game, you have to make yourself useful. Be flexible and never say no. That way, they’ll stick to you and you get to live another day.”

“That’s kinda harsh.”

“You think that’s harsh? Try being in a prostitute ring for a while. You’re not even allowed to tell anyone anything. If you do, Jungwoo – nim will you hunt you down.”

“Okay, that is a harsher.” Shotaro agrees. “But like you, I also don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“It’s funny that that’s everyone’s backstory in this family.”

“What do you mean?”

“The founders were survivors of a school shooting some ten years ago so the government put them in a secret facility in Busan to keep them safe. But they ran away after two weeks or something. They had nothing, no phone, no food, no nothing. They’re not even allowed to contact their family to tell them they were alive. So, they turned to the streets to survive. They then got picked up by a famous mafia leader back then but they left when the leader died. So, they decided to start their own mafia.”

“Who knew they had such interesting life stories? I always thought they were born with a silver spoon.”

“I don’t think any of them were.”

“Still, they managed to be at the top even with their small numbers of what, one thousand, I think? Even the yakuza groups in Yokohama are afraid of Yuta – san.”

“Yeah, their numbers are very low for a well established mafia like them. Especially in Canada, I heard they only have around eighty-two members? While Seoul has the largest with five hundred and twenty.”

“But then again, there’s only three squads, so who do they take orders from?”

“Those three are the main squads, while each founder has their own sub squad. Like Jaehyun hyung has his own sub squad of around twenty people. They do all sorts of mission for him. But they still have to get permission from Yuta – nim since he’s the capo of the squad Jaehyun hyung’s in.”

“Then why don’t the squads all live together, then?”

“Shotaro – ah, are you sure you’re not a mole? Why are you asking so many questions?”

“I’m not! I’m just curious. I know nothing about them aside from the fact that Yuta – san has some sort of power.”

“He doesn’t. He’s actually fourth in command. Right, the squad members, why don’t they live together? Well, to live closer to their families, I guess? Johnny hyung’s family lives in Chicago.” Sungchan scratches his head while deep in thought.

“I see. So that means that I won’t get to leave Japan then since my family lives there.”

“I guess?”

“Wait, Yuta – san is only fourth in command? How?”

“He’s only a capo. He doesn’t really have that much power outside of his squad. Remember Taeil – nim, the one we met earlier? He’s third in command. Johnny hyung is second, and Taeyong – nim is the top. He’s the boss.”

“Have we met him?”

“I have. Last year. You? I don’t think you had.”

“Do you think I’ll get to meet him?”

“Yeah. He’s actually not as intimidating as people make him to be. He wears cartoon character socks and always carries sweet potato chips with him. Honestly, he seems like a normal guy to me.”

“And he’s our leader?”

“The best one there is in the world, to be honest. The Neos wouldn’t be The Neos if he wasn’t the leader.”

“Hm, that is kinda true. He seems like a good person.”

“He is. He cares about his members a lot and looks after them. He’s not one of those leaders that instill fear to their subordinates but rather want to have an open communication to them. He’s one of those leaders that would want to work with their members rather than have them work for him.”

“Do the other capos do those too?”

“I can’t speak for the others, but Jaehyun hyung is like that. Notice that I call him hyung? He’s okay with it.”

“I think I’ve heard Jaemin – san and Jeno – san call him senpai as well and not sama.”

“See? For mafia members they’re pretty chill and not at all intimidating. At least not to their friends and close ones. But for the enemies, well…”

“Yuta – san can be quite scary when he wants to.”

“Their duality is unmatched in my opinion.”

“I agree.”

“Right, wanna watch TV? There’s chips in here that Jaehyun hyung says that we can eat if we want.”

“Okay, that sounds nice.”

“Let’s enjoy these things while we still get to live, yeah?”

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! Like I mentioned in my previous end notes, Sungchan was the lapdog that johnny talked about a few chapters back. that was my little easter egg!
> 
> anyway, i hope you guys like this chapter! the next one will start the drama and action of the entire plot! 
> 
> kudos and comments are well appreciated! thank you for reading! 
> 
> https://curiouscat.me/jeongjaehyeonie <\----- if you have questions / suggestions, send them here!


	14. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few notes that help me build the world for this work. Skip of you want, but there are information here that's somehow vital to the story :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, I'll be dumping some information here that might help you all understand how the Neos' operate and whatnot. I originally planned to put this up once the story is over, but I'd figured that some of you might be confused already. So here we are! 
> 
> If you re read chap 1 -3, I actually added some pictures on there that I made while building the story. They're basically just logos (?) of The Neos, NCT, Co. and Neo Zone. Nothing much so peep if you want :)

**Chapter 1: My First and Last**

\- As you all know, this chapter had no love story whatsoever in it but the title seemed fitting since the incident happened during "first" period and marked their "last" hour as normal school kids. 

10 years ago:  
17yo - tae yuta johnny are classmates in high school 2nd year  
18yo - taeil is a 3rd year  
16yo - kun ten doyoung 1st years  
15yo - jaehyun winwin 3rd year middle school  
14yo - jungwoo 2nd year middle school  
13yo - mark lucas dejun hendery 1st year middle school  
12yo - renjun jeno jaemin haechan yangyang 6th grade   
11yo - chenle - 5th grade  
10yo - jisung 4th grade (yes jisung was that young)

note: sokor doesn't have witness protection :/

**Chapter 2** : ~~Suho~~ **Simon Says**

Room assignments: (note, only 2 beds per room) 

dumpster room: yuta - taeil, jaehyun - jungwoo, mark (futon)  
the cleanest place on earth: taeyong - johnny, doyoung - ten - haechan - jisung (futon)  
chinese line: kun - chenle, renjun - sicheng, lucas (futon)  
hell on earth: jaemin - jeno, dejun - hendery, yangyang (futon)

*I never really thought of Junmyeon's mafia name so I never mentioned it. 

Boss - Junmyeon (Jaemin and Jungwoo were assigned to him as personal bodyguards)

Underboss - Chanyeol

Consigliere - Minseok

Capos:

Baekhyun (Elyxion Unit, the top unit) - Johnny, Yuta, Mark, Lucas, Doyoung, Chenle, Jisung) (this is where they were assigned while under Junmyeon)

Yixing (Exordium Unit, the spy unit) - Jeno

Kyungsoo (Exoluxion Unit, the IT unit) - Kun, Sicheng, Hendery, Yangyang, Dejun, Ten

Chen (no unit name because there aren't enough tour names, in short exo needs to go on tour again soon TuT) - Taeyong

Sehun (Exploration Unit, the Science unit) - Haechan

Jongin - the mafia doctor (he's not a capo, but he is well respected among the mafia)

**Chapter 3: Regular**

\- this is their success story

Timeline for anyone's confused

2012 - school shooting, meeting junmyeon  
2013 - they leave the mafia  
2014 - nct co  
2015 - neo zone  
2016 -   
2017 - shanghai  
2018 - tokyo  
2019 - chicago  
2020 - vancouver  
2021 -  
2022 - the main story starts

their chat IDs

taeil - taeil_moon  
johnny - johnnyjsuh  
tae - tae_dragon  
yuta - yutakoyaki  
kun - kunfused  
doyoung - bunny.doie  
ten - 10lee  
jae - jaejaemochi  
sicheng - winwinner  
jungwoo - swoopy  
lucas - sushiking  
mark - watermelion  
dejun - breadcheeks  
hendery - cucumberprince  
renjun - injeolmi  
jeno - je_no  
haechan - fullsun  
jaemin - bunny.nana  
yangyang - sheepx2  
chenle - bighead1  
jisung - bighead2

*im still thinking for tarochan. any suggestions???

street name = name they used while under Junmyeon’s mafia. Different from their real names.   
government name = the names the government assigned to them upon entering the witness protection program.)

**Chapter 9: Nonstop**

\- did you know that the empathy suite in palms casino is worth 100k a night? damn johnny be overspending no wonder doyoung got mad

and in case you were wondering who was the "Chan" in this chapter, yes it's Dino from Seventeen. 

**Chapter 10: Dream Run**

NCT Japan, Co's residence and office is at Toranomon Hills Residence (It has office spaces at the lower floors and residences at the higher floors)

46th floor - residence  
13 - 26th floor - NCT Japan office  
13th floor - jaemin's office  
23rd floor - jeno's office  
26th floor - yuta's office

(yes their offices are located on their birthdates number)

important note: yuta moves to SK to attend high school in 2011 - a year before the incident happens 

yes haruka and matsuoka are from free and koushi is from haikyuu

dogeza - is an element of traditional Japanese etiquette which involves kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to prostrate oneself while touching one's head to the floor. It is used to show deference to a person of higher status, as a deep apology or to express the desire for a favor from said person. (wikipedia) 

**Chapter 11: Unbreakable**

The Neos Initiation Process

recruit - associate - trainee - soldier 

A person can only be recruited by the inner circle although they can be recommended by a middle circle. once their recruitment is approved, they are immediately an associate. When a person is an associate, although they can start carrying out missions, they're still not part of the family. After an associate deems itself worthy to an inner circle, they will be promoted to a trainee position. when a person is a trainee, they are already halfway there in becoming a part of the family although there is possibility of failing this training period. Only an inner circle can promote them to a soldier position. 

Although Shotaro only came to the mafia this year, Sungchan came to them 2 years ago. He was in the ring for about 6 months before begging jaehyun to get him out. so he's been put in office work for about a year and half. 

**Chapter 12: Best Friend**

1, 270 members only. only the best of the best make it to be soldier. being a trainee doesn't guarantee that you'll be part of the family. if you fail your training period, you're let go but not before signing an nda. if you break the contract, jungwoo will you hunt you down. no one wants jungwoo to hunt them down.

82 - canada  
290 - us  
260 - japan  
110 - shanghai  
520 - seoul

the numbers above are part of sub squads headed by the top soldier of the main squad. for example, doyoung has his own sub squad, which he can send on missions on his behalf. but, before they are put into action, they must get the approval of yuta first, then yuta will transfer to kun, then kun will transfer to taeil, then to taeyong for the final say. if taeyong agrees, then the mission will proceed.

the reason why the squads are not living in the same country is because taeyong let them decide where they want to live. if their squad needs them, they're free to join their squad mates. for example, if mark needs his top soldiers, he'll holler (lol) at taeyong and kun and yuta so they'll send chenle, jeno and jaemin, and jisung to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay! that's about it for now! will update as we go along.


	15. Misfit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone else's rule, as if we were to obey without asking.  
> They're trying to fulfill their dream, trying to trample my throat  
> How high I'm aiming?  
> I don't know, you're boring me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Sorry for the long break! I had just switched jobs so I'm in the process of adapting to my new workplace TuT But I managed to crunch a few words during my free time when I get home so here we are! 
> 
> Anyway, we're a few chapters away from the climax of the story! I'm literally itching to write the next parts of the story so I'll see how well I can write it that fast without losing sleep heh.
> 
> On another note, who's excited for NCT 2020 Beyond Live? It would be so nice to see them perform all together TTuTT and I hope Jisung gets to perform too :( I'm not asking for him to perform, just maybe like what they made him do for mama? I'd hate if he didn't participate at all. This is one of NCT's biggest projects to date and I would feel bad for him if he didn't get to perform :(
> 
> BUT HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU GUYS!! STAY SAFE!! WEAR A MASK!!

**SEOUL, 8:34 PM KST**

At HQ, the Fireflies squad were having a meeting with Johnny on how to lure the perpetrators to Neo Zone. Haechan suggests that they pass up as drug dealers from a small-time syndicate.

“Well, that could work. But would Doyoung hyung even let us borrow one bag of his precious cocaine?” Renjun jokes.

“He has to if he wants us to succeed!” Mark counters. “Just two bags will do. We just need to make them believe that we’re legit.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Johnny volunteers. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright. Thanks, hyung.” Mark does a thank you gesture to Johnny.

“Now that’s settled with, let’s move on. I think I’ve already mentioned about including Sungchan to the mix for this mission, no? Well, Yong – ah wants to add Shotaro as well. He wants to see how Shotaro manages himself first hand.”

“Not to be rude, but nine people for this mission seems like a huge number.” Mark rebuts.

“I think you’re forgetting that Renjun and Haechan won’t be joining you for this mission since their identities are already known to our targets.”

“Oh, yeah. My bad.” Mark scratches the top of his head in embarrassment.

“But this is only temporarily, right?” Jisung presses further.

“Of course!” Johnny offers the younger a warm smile.

“Okay. I think it’s okay. We’re four hands short without Renjun and Haechan. So, I do think having substitutes wouldn’t hurt us.” Mark agrees. “What about you guys, do you think it’s okay?” He looks at his teammates.

“Well, we’ve already discussed this before. And I have worked with Shotaro before so I don’t see a problem with it.” Jeno gives Mark a thumbs up.

“But wouldn’t that be a hard adjustment?” Chenle speaks up. “I mean, does he even speak Korean that fluently that he can communicate with us?”

“He’s studying Korean twelve hours a day. I think he’ll be fine. Besides, if there’s a language mishap, Jeno and Jaemin here can translate for him.” Johnny motions to the two.

“Ah, I see.” Chenle laughs. “I forgot you two speak fluent Japanese!”

“You’re lucky you’re cute and I love you.” Jaemin warns him. Chenle proceeds to grin bigger towards Jaemin.

“Okay, so if everyone agrees, let’s end the meeting here. I still have another meeting with the Chicago crew about our ongoing problem.”

“Still?” Mark raises his voice in surprise.

“Still.” Johnny pouts. “Joshua hasn’t come back yet and Ten is at his wit’s end.”

“Shua hyung still hasn’t come back?” Mark repeats. “Is he…”

“I don’t want to think about it. But if we’re being honest, it’s actually better that he’s not here when all of this unfolds. I hate for people to find out that he’s part of NCT.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you think that way.”

“If all else goes south, it’s better that he never resurfaces.” Johnny confesses.

“Right, right. Okay. We’ll let you to it. We’ll stay here to discuss other matters.”

“Of course. Then, I’ll take my leave.” Johnny bids goodbye as he exits the meeting room. And once he was out of earshot, the seven of them all huddled closer.

“Be honest, do you guys really believe that we’re only going to be working with Sungchan and Shotaro once? I doubt it. With the way they’re including those two in everything that we do, I’d say they’re trying to ease those two into our squad.” Chenle speaks up.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Haechan agrees. “It’s why I’ve been so quiet this entire time. I didn’t want to say something that would offend Johnny hyung. Like what gives? We’re obviously fine on our own. Why do they gotta ruin everything for us?”

“Well, for one thing, they like to suck the fun out of everything.” Jaemin retorts.

“Still, shouldn’t they ask for our opinions on these? I didn’t suffer through a drug addiction just for them to ignore our feelings.” Jisung adds.

“Now, now. Let’s not be too harsh on those two.” Jeno tries to soothe his members.

“Did they think that just because we’re the youngest they think they can walk all over us?” Renjun spits out. “Like hello! We contribute a lot for this mafia too! Xuxi is a very great testament to that!”

“The big three needs a reality check one of these days!” Haechan proclaims.

“Guys, I’m literally right here!” Mark scolds. “If you have concerns about the big three, tell them to me! Don’t talk shit about them behind their backs!”

“Stop pretending that you’re okay with this! You’re obviously not!” Jaemin remarks. “You want us to tell our concerns to the big three? Fine! Do it! Tell them that we hate the idea!”

“Don’t you dare yell at me!” Mark bites back. “I’ve had enough of your attitude, Na Jaemin!”

“You’re only one year older than me. Stop pretending that you’re so high and mighty.” Jaemin deadpans.

“Jaemin – ah! Enough of that!” Now it was Jeno scolding Jaemin.

“I’m giving you the rest of today to reflect on what you just said. Now Leave.” Mark orders.

“Fine. But for your information, for the past ten years, I’ve grown up with you. So where else would I get this attitude from?” Jaemin says as a parting word before leaving the meeting room.

“Hyung, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Jeno apologizes as he bows in front of Mark.

“Don’t apologize on his behalf. It’s not your fault.” Mark then looks to the rest of the group. “Well, anyone wanna follow Jaemin outside?”

“Hyung, it’s not that we tolerate Jaemin’s smart ass mouth, but he’s right, you know? We know you also don’t like the idea. It’s just been us seven for so long and we’re so used to each other. Any changes to our squad after all this time is just catastrophic.” Haechan speaks up.

“Still, that doesn’t justify his attitude.”

“Ever since Shotaro first showed up, he’s been like that.” Jeno informs. “I guess he just feels threatened. Shotaro’s an ace shooter, so I kinda understand where he’s coming from.”

“Jaemin hyung has always been the kindest towards anyone.” Jisung adds. “I don’t think his sudden out of character remarks are groundless.”

“Listen, I get that you guys are defending him. And I understand the reason why he’s acting like that. But that doesn’t give him the right to be rude all the time. He doesn’t have the right to take it out on me. I’m not the one deciding these things. Just like you guys, I’m just a pawn too.”

“I think the only way for this to be settled with is if you take this to them.” Chenle proposes.

“I agree, hyung. Before Jaemin drifts further apart from us.” Renjun interjects. “We need to settle this before it’s too late. Tell them that we’re fine with working with them once, as a substitute for me and Haechan, but not permanently.”

“Okay, fine. Fine! I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them. I’ll meet with them first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks, hyung! We knew we could count on you!” Chenle beams at him.

The very next day, Mark patiently waits for the big three inside the meeting room at HQ. He hopes that he’ll do a good job at communicating his members’ concern without sounding rude. The last thing he wants is to piss off Taeil this early in the morning. Soon, the three have arrived and are all wearing different expressions on their faces. As expected, Taeil has a frown on this early in the morning while Johnny had a tired look on. Taeyong isn’t any better, and he looks absolutely disheveled.

“You three need a vacation ASAP.” He mutters too loudly.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t call us this early in the morning, we wouldn’t need a vacation.” Taeil barks back.

“Ah, but this can’t wait.”

“What’s this about, Markie – ah?” Taeyong looks at him as he sits down.

“It’s about,” he pauses for a while, quite unsure on how to word the next part of his sentence. “Well, it’s about Shotaro and Sungchan.”

“What about them? Do they not want to cooperate with the mission?” Johnny interjects.

“It’s not really about them and more about my members.”

“What about them?” Taeil asks.

“They think that adding Shotaro and Sungchan for the mission isn’t a good idea.”

“What? Didn’t they agree with it last night?” Johnny gives Mark a confused look. “Didn’t we agree that we’ll include them since Renjun and Haechan won’t be joining you?”

“They worry that they’ll be added permanently and they don’t like that idea.”

“So, what if they get added? It’s only a matter of time till new members gets added to the three squads anyway.” Taeyong shrugs.

“What? We’re adding more?” Mark stands up in shock upon hearing Taeyong’s plan.

“Don’t act surprised. Don’t your top soldiers recruit men from our trainee pool? We’re not exactly adding new members per se, we’ll just be promoting some of them to a top soldier position.”

“So, does that mean that we’ll be promoting Sungchan and Shotaro to a top soldier position from a trainee?”

“I don’t see why not. They both possess skills that are almost up to par with some of the founding members. Take Shotaro for example. His sharp shooting skills far exceeds Jaemin’s skills. I don’t see a problem in making him a top soldier.”

“I agree with Taeyong. Why waste talent just because they weren’t there from the start? It’s the skill and their quickness to adapt to their new environment that’s important.” Taeil adds.

“Listen to your hyungs, Mark.” Johnny instructs Mark in English. “We’re not doing this for fun. We’re doing this because we believe that those two can contribute a lot to our family.”

“No offense, hyungs, but are you hearing yourself right now? Did you just compare Jaemin to a newbie?” Mark spits out.

“Watch your mouth, Minhyun – ah.” Taeyong warns.

“No, you don’t understand! Don’t you think it’s unfair? Some of our soldiers started from the bottom and worked their way up to be a top soldier’s right-hand man. You always told us to treat everyone fairly. Now here you are making a trainee into a top soldier just like that! Where’s the fairness in that?”

“I don’t think you heard what I said earlier, Markie – ah. Why waste talent just because they weren’t there from the start?” Taeil reiterates himself.

“Talent? Did you think we all had a talent in being criminals? Absolutely not! We didn’t have the talent. That was our hard work and years of experience that brought us here! Our own blood, sweat, and tears! Did we take the easy way out? Hell no! We suffered for years! We went to hell and back during our first year. And now these two just waltz in on us just like that and you’re automatically making them a top soldier in MY squad!”

“You think those two had it easy, too? Sungchan suffered way more than we did.” Johnny rebuts him.

“Oh, so now we’re measuring who had it worse? Fine! Did Sungchan ever had to kill another person to survive?”

“He did.” Johnny deadpans.

“What?” All three of them exclaim at the same time.

“What? You don’t believe me? Ask Jaehyun about it! There was a guest who wasn’t very cooperative and kept trying to take home a prostitute so Jaehyun told Sungchan to take care of it.”

“And he actually did?” Taeyong asks flabbergasted.

“Yeah! Sungchan stabbed him with a steak knife right by the left jugular vein!”

“That’s fucked up.” Mark comments.

“You’ve done worse, though.” Taeil remarks.

“That’s not the point!” Mark exclaims as he runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t care what he’s done or what he’s went through! You want them both in our squad? Fine! But they’ll start from the lowest ranks!”

“Aish, that’s a waste.” Johnny rebuts him. “They’ll be promoted to a top soldier position anyway so why make them wait?”

“I think you’re forgetting that I get to call the shots on when they get promoted.”

“And I think you’re also forgetting the fact that I can demote you for misconduct.” Taeyong spats back at him.

“Hyung! Please listen to me!” Mark pleads. “This isn’t just my concern, alright? This is all seven of us! All of us! Don’t you think it’s time you guys listen to the youngest in the family?”

“Listen? Don’t we always listen to you guys?” Taeil retorts.

“Jisung begs to differ.” Mark scoffs.

“That’s enough!” Taeyong calls out. That struck a nerve in him, he’ll admit. “Whether you like it or not, I get the final say on who gets added where. And I say that Sungchan and Shotaro are added to your squad as a top soldier _permanently._ And that’s final.”

“What the fuck, hyung!” Mark screams. “NO!”

“Don’t make me kick you out in the streets with nothing but the clothes on your back!”

Mark pauses at this as he weighs Taeyong’s words. As much as he loves the idea of finally being free from the shackles of their past, he can’t help but worry what will happen to the Dreamies if he leaves. He knows the higher ups will take it out on them and he can’t let that happen.

“Fine.” He says curtly, devoid of any emotion. He bows to the three as a parting and exits the room.

Once he was out of the room, the three all look at each other confused.

“Did he just agree to it?” Johnny wonders out loud.

“I think he did.” Taeil confirms.

“Let’s give him some time. I’m sure he’ll come around.” Taeyong consoles.

At the lounge a couple of floors down, Mark meets with the Dreamies and delivers the news to them. Best to say they did not take it lightly.

“Can’t believe they really think they can walk all over us.” Renjun complains.

“And promote a low-ranking soldier to a top soldier position? Are they serious? What happened to ‘only a founding member gets to be a top soldier?’” Haechan adds.

“This is bigger than your squad if they’re planning on adding new top soldiers! That means us, too!” Yangyang exclaims.

“Did Kun hyung and Yuta hyung agree to this as well?” Hendery asks to the group.

“Probably not? I can’t imagine Kun - ge agreeing to this. You know how much he values the fact that we’re all like family to him.” Dejun points out.

“I agree! They can’t just add strangers to our family like that!” Chenle adds.

“I say we organize a rebellion against them!” Lucas suggests.

“Isn’t that a little too much, Lucas hyung?” Jisung tries to calm his hyung down.

“Yeah, we want them to listen to us, not kick us out!” Jeno points out.

“Well, what are we gonna do, then? They’ll obviously be monitoring the mission from every angle so we can’t leave them out.” Jaemin states. “What are our options?”

“We can injure them purposely so they won’t get to participate?” Lucas voices with a smile on his face.

“Again, hyung! We want them to listen to us and not sell us off to the police!” Jisung scolds his Lucas.

“Guess we’ll just have to live with it.” Mark speaks up after a while.

“What?” Everyone in the room choruses.

“Let’s just listen to them for the time being. Hopefully this all blows over soon and they’ll forget about those two and we can all go back to normal with just us twenty-one.”

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” Renjun looks at him as if he grew ten heads.

“Think about it. We can’t fight them. They’re at the top of the tower while we’re just mere soldiers outside the wall.”

“I hate the fact that you’re right, hyung. I really do.” Yangyang whines.

“But no matter what happens, it’ll always be us eleven, right?” Jisung looks at his hyungs.

“Of course!” Hendery replies. “No one can get in between us!”

“Right, right!” Chenle agrees.

A couple of days later, Mark, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung, Shotaro, and Sungchan are all dispatched and are on their way to their target’s hideout. They’ll be taking on the roles of harmless drug dealers who does door to doors. Yangyang was able to secure a deal with them through the dark web. Once they reached the front door, Mark knocks three times as per instruction and waits for them to answer. A few seconds later, the door opens and reveals a man in his mid-thirties.

“Oh, you must be the dealers?” They spoke.

“Yeah.” Mark casually replies. The man ushers them inside the apartment.

“I was actually quite skeptical as to why there were so many of you, but I was later notified that you’re a high-profile man. I’ve seen your works.”

“Thanks. In this world, you gotta have all the protection needed.”

“Right? So, let’s get it to it right away.”

“Of course!” Mark exclaims. He ushers for Jeno to come forward before grabbing the attaché case from him and setting it on the table. He opens the case and reveals the vials containing heroin. The man picks up a vial and inspects it.

“Wow, this looks like they were made with high quality materials.”

“Of course! I wouldn’t sell them if they were of average.”

“As expected, coming from a man like you. I’m very impressed, Daesung – ssi.”

“It’s all part of my quality control. I make sure my clients receive the best of the best.”

“Right, how fast will the heroin take effect?”

The drug will take effect in about ten seconds upon injection.”

“That’s quite fast.”

“Right? The fastest in the market as of now.”

The man puts the vial back in the attached case and looks at Mark. “Your crew, I feel like I’ve seen some of them.”

Mark swears the blood in his head just gushed down to his feet. “You can’t possibly have. My men’s identities are kept hidden from the day they become a part of my crew. All previous footprints of theirs are destroyed to avoid being traced.”

“Ah, my mistake then. Must be someone else. But they sure do resemble someone I know.”

“Really now? Who?”

“That guy.” The man points to Jisung. “I feel like he looks like someone who was on the news a couple years back.”

“Who? Jiwoo?” Mark laughs a bit to hide his nervousness. “I mean, Jiwoo’s got an average face so I’m pretty sure there’s a lot that looks like him.”

“Hm, must be.” The man chuckles. “Ah, right! The payment. Shall I pay in cash or by check?”

“I only accept in cash. It’s one of my policies.”

“I see, I see. I’ll have the money wired to you by tonight.”

“No, no. I don’t think you understand. When I meant cash, I meant in cold, hard, cash.”

“Oh.” This takes the man by surprise.

“It’s why I personally deliver the packages to my clients.”

“Of course. Give me a moment.” The man excuses himself and walks inside a room. Once he was out of sight, Mark turns around and looks at Jisung.

“I think he saw you on the news when you knocked orange juice at the president’s son.”

“I thought we wouldn’t bring that up!” Jisung whines.

“Well, it obviously made an impact if even they can remember it!”

“See, I told you that was legendary.” Chenle teases.

“Not the topic at hand!” Jisung complains.

Sungchan takes this time to take photos of the place and sends them back to Sicheng.

“Why are you taking photos of their house?” Shotaro whispers at him.

“Sicheng – ssi told me to. He said it could be useful for the next part of our mission.”

“Oh, okay.”

A couple minutes later, the man returned to them carrying a black bag. “Here. Fifty million won for sixteen vials.” The man hands over the bag to Mark. Mark then hands over the bag to Jaemin to check if there really is money inside the bag. Once Jaemin gives the okay sign, Mark nods and walks over the man.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you.” Mark says as he shakes hands with the man.

“Likewise.”

“Then, we’ll be on our way.”

“Of course. I understand that you’re a busy man.”

Mark bows as a parting and the others follow suit. He gives one last nod to the man before exiting the apartment and make their way to the waiting van. Once inside, they all let out a breath of relief.

“I can’t believe we left there unscathed.” Jeno exclaims as he tries to catch his breath.

“Right? I thought I was going to die today!” Jaemin adds.

“You guys are so pessimistic.” Chenle comments. “He was alone while there were seven of us. I doubt he do anything funny.”

“I think you’re forgetting the fact that he literally committed mass murder ten years ago.” Jisung interjects. Chenle playfully hits Jisung on the arm as a response.

“Either way, at least we now have an idea on who we’re dealing with. Sungchan, did you send Sicheng hyung the pictures?” Mark asks as he looks at Sungchan.

“Yes, I did, Mark – ssi.”

“Good. Let’s leave it to Kun hyung on what to do next.”

Back at HQ, Sicheng shows the photos that Sungchan took to Taeyong. “Look, this is the inside of their apartment. It looks pretty normal if you ask me. I don’t see any booby traps inside. Let’s send these to Kun hyung and see what he thinks. Although, if they’re just as laxed as letting seven strangers into their home, then I don’t see a problem in letting them come to us.”

“How?” Taeyong asks.

“How about a performance?” Taeil interjects.

“By whom?” Sicheng looks confused.

“Ten? You?” Taeil suggests.

“Me? Why me?”

“Don’t be shy. I saw your middle school dance performance with Jaehyun.” Taeil teases.

“Hey, now! That was a long time ago!”

“But that could work, though?” Taeyong comments.

“Are you both serious? Are you even sure if Ten hyung will agree to this?” Sicheng complains.

“I’m sure he’ll agree. Has there anything Ten hasn’t agreed to?” Taeil reassures.

“Okay, given that we both agree, when are we inviting them to Neo Zone?”

“How about two days from now? Can you come up with something that quickly?” Taeyong suggests.

“Two days? Do you think choreographies just pop into our brains that quickly?”

“Well, you can insult Dejun in Korean pretty fast so I guess you can?”

“How is that related? And since when have I insulted Dejun in Korean?”

“Stop pretending. You’re fluent when you want to.”

“Yeah, just like Ten.” Taeil adds.

“You know what, never mind. I’ll tell Ten hyung about it and see if he agrees. You can both inform the Dreamies of the next step.”

“Can’t you do it?” Taeil suggest forlornly.

“What? Why?”

“No reason. I just don’t feel like talking to them.”

“Did you two get into a fight with Mark?”

“Well, it’s not just Mark…” Taeyong adds. Sicheng immediately caught on to what’s happening.

“It’s about that Sungchan and Shotaro thing, isn’t it? What? they didn’t like the idea?”

“Mark cussed us out because of it…”

“Well, did you ask their opinion about it?”

“Johnny did. But I think he only mentioned during this mission and not permanently.”

“Hyung, I don’t want to seem rude, but let’s not have a repeat on what happened to Jisung to the rest of them.”

“H – how did you know?” Taeyong looks surprised.

“Chenle had a whole breakdown in Kun hyung’s office when he found out. I’m sure the whole floor knew about it.”

“But he seems fine about it now?” Taeil mentions.

“It took Kun hyung and Jisung a week to get through to Chenle. But yeah, he’s fine now. But anyway, talk to Mark, please. I know me, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo are suppose to bridge you guys to them since we’re in the middle, but not like this. I don’t like mediating fights. And given that this is a serious issue, it’s hard getting stuck in the middle.”

“Still, shouldn’t he respect our decision?”

“Hyung, we’re friends first before we are executives. Mark has been like a younger brother to us. I think he deserves a little bit of respect from us.”

“I get what you’re trying to say, Sichengie. It’s not that we like to start fights with them. It’s just that we thought this was the best decision there is. Both Sungchan and Shotaro seem like a good fit in our mafia. We don’t want to lose them. I personally don’t want to lose them that’s why I added them to the Fireflies squad.”

“Then you should’ve told them this in a friendly, casual way and not in an executive setting. It seems like it was a business decision rather than a friendly favor.”

“You’re right.” Taeyong sighs. “I fucked up big time. God, I can’t seem to do anything right.” He mutters as lowers himself to the ground. “First with Jisung and now with Mark.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. That was both of our faults.” Taeil consoles him. “Thank you, Sichengie. I think we both needed that reality check.”

“Hey, happy I could help.” Sicheng smiles at them both. “Talk to them. All of them. Tell them the real reason. They deserve to know the truth.”

“We will. Thank you Sichengie.” Taeyong says as he looks up at Sicheng.

“Of course. Anyway, I’ll go find Ten hyung and tell him he’s having a debut stage in two days’ time.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks again, Sichengie.” Taeyong smiles. Taeil grabs both of Sicheng’s hands and kisses the top of it.

“Gross.” Sicheng grimaces as he breaks free from Taeil’s grip and runs away.

“Anyways, I can’t believe what’s happening. Like, this all seems too easy.” Taeyong brings up once Sicheng was out of the room.

“Right? I mean, I have faith in Mark and the others, but this just seems fishy to me.” Taeil agrees.

“Do you think they figured us out?”

“Can’t be. Our security is the best there is in the world. No one can hack through it.”

“You’re right. Let’s be positive about this.”

“We’re almost there. Once we got them inside Neo Zone then it’s game over for them.”

“You’re right, hyung. But this just really seems too good to be true.”

“I know. And I agree. But I do believe in our capabilities now. We’re not as weak as we were back then. We have some power now, you know?”

“Right, of course. Of course. I just hope this goes smoothly.”

“It will, Taeyong – ah.”

“Ten hyung!” Sicheng calls out as he enters the data room.

“I’m here!” Ten calls out. Sicheng tries his hardest to find the source of the sound and walks further inside the room. Finally, he spots Ten with Haechan hunched over a blueprint they were discussing.

“Oh, what’s that?” Sicheng asks as he walks over to the two.

“It’s a prototype I made. It’s a tiny air diffuser but instead of emitting oxygen infused with nice smelling essential oils, it emits ammonia.” Haechan informs.

“Isn’t that deadly?”

“That’s the point. Of course, we can’t have ourselves inhaling these. So, I’m planning on making some nude-colored nose filter that we can use.”

“Then that means we have to wear these beforehand.”

“Yeah, of course.” Ten points out.

“This will be great if we want to knock our opponents out without bloodshed. It’s silent but deadly.”

“This is great. I’m sure this will be helpful in the long run.” Sicheng comments.

I’m still trying to make it as lightweight and portable as possible. I’m aiming that we can just put these in our pockets to avoid it being seen.”

“Well, it’s why Ten hyung’s here, right?” Sicheng encourages. “Ah, speak of which. Hyung, you’re having a debut stage in two days’ time!”

“I’m having a what?” Ten asks confused. Haechan laughs upon hearing this.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be doing it with me.”

“What?”

“What’s this for anyway?” Haechan interjects.

“We’re doing a performance for them at Neo Zone as an endgame. We need a reason to invite them. We are the reason.”

“Hold up, this is funny!” Haechan teases.

“I’m thinking of bringing Chenle into this. He can sing for us while we dance.”

“Ooo, that’s cool.”

“Wait, you agreed to this?” Ten asks, baffled.

“It’s not like there’s anything I can do, right? Besides, I tried to compromise but we all know the ending to that if I’m here telling you this.”

“I can’t believe this!” Ten exclaims.

“Me neither. But there’s no point in arguing now. They’re counting on us already. The least we can do is do a good job.”

“What are we even dancing to?”

“Let’s ask Chenle what songs he already knows how to play and then we’ll work around it.”

“Good luck to you both!” Haechan teases again.

“This isn’t funny, Haechannie!” Ten scolds.

“No, it is funny. I’m still questioning myself if I really want to do this.” Sicheng jokes. “But like I said, we have no choice.”

“I hate this. I can’t believe this!”

“Cheer up, hyung. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“In my opinion, a lot.” Ten deadpans.

“Cheer up, Ten hyung. At least now you can fulfill your dream of being a dancer!” Haechan teases.

“Not the topic at hand!” Ten rebuts.

“Should I call Chenle over so you can both discuss this?”

“Haechan, you’re not helping!”

“Why? The faster we think of something, the faster we get to practice it. I at least don’t want to look like I have two left feet.” Sicheng confesses.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re a natural born dancer!”

“Says the pep squad member.”

“Can you just both admit that you’re good dancers and get this over with? You’re both lucky you even had the chance to answer your calling before being thrown into this kind of life.” Haechan scolds.

“Hey, now. No need to be sentimental…” Sicheng consoles.

“I’m not!” Haechan defends. “I’m just jealous is all. You’re both aware that you’re good dancers from such an early age whereas I don’t even know if I have any talents aside from doing really terrible paper mâché’s in sixth grade.”

“You talk as if you don’t have a talent in what you’re doing.” Ten points out.

“I was thinking of normal talents like dancing and singing, not making bombs at the age of eighteen.”

“Well, to each their own, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Haechan dismisses. “Anyway, you can focus on your dance routine for now. I’ll finish this on my own. If I need help, I’ll just ask Kun hyung to come take a look at my prototype.”

“Okay. But remember, you’re not in this alone, alright? You’re not the only one suffering. You have us when things get rough.” Ten reminds him.

“I know. Thanks.”

Sicheng and Ten both excuse themselves from Haechan and exits the room to look for Chenle.

“Do you think we struck a nerve back there?” Sicheng asks once they were in the elevator.

“Probably. He’s not one to be sentimental in the middle of a conversation. That must really hit home for him.”

“I feel bad for him. But at least we let him know that we’re there for him.”

“Yeah, he has us. I mean, that’s all we can offer him. It’s not like we can rewind time and prevent things from happening.”

“That’s true. All we can do now is just live with the repercussions of our past.”

“Stop using big words to sound smart, Ah Cheng. They’re not working.”

“Hey, I tried!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long to write omg I was writing maybe 2 paragraphs at a time and it was so painful to not write more. Hopefully, I'll be more comfortable in my new job the next coming weeks so I can write more. There's nothing more stressful than transitioning to a new job ahahaha
> 
> comments and kudos are much much welcome! come yell at me to sleep https://curiouscat.me/jeongjaehyeonie
> 
> there will probably be typos in there, but rest assured that i will be going over this chapter in a couple days to correct them ahaha


	16. GO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don’t mistake your lost eyes  
> I crave for the better world  
> Speak with sympathy in your voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! We are back with another chapter! I'm sorry it took so long TuT this chapter was such a struggle to write ahahaha
> 
> Anyways, in this chapter, we'll finally find out who the seven masked men were from ten years ago! I really hope it was surprise for all of you >.< I tried to be as discreet as possible but if you've managed to guess who they were earlier then congrats!
> 
> There's also a track in the middle of the chapter, you can play it if you want. This is how I imagined Chenle would cover the song for Ten and Sicheng's performance.
> 
> also, who here is holding on to the last crumbs of nct 2020 before the neos go back to their fixed units??? ME! i don't want it be over yet :( But knowing SM, i know there's still a lot of content yet to be released (maybe aswaz s2?) 
> 
> I still want my johnkun selfie tho
> 
> OKAY now back to this ahahha. There will be trigger warnings for this chapter since there's some serious stuff going on.
> 
> Right, onto the story!
> 
> Tw // killing, drugging

**SEOUL, 2:26 PM KST**

Sicheng, Ten, and Chenle were all situated by the dance floor of Neo Zone going over their performance for their guests. Sicheng and Ten choregraphed a modern dance to a piano song depicting a person’s Ying and Yang fighting for dominance within oneself. Chenle then would be singing and playing the piano for the dance.

“Now that we’ve been practicing this song for two days, I just now realized how hard the chords are.” Chenle points out.

“But you’ve been playing alright the past two days, though?” Ten offers him a smile.

“Yeah, but that’s just me being me, you know, the piano master.”

“Now is not the time for your ego, Zhong Chenle.” Sicheng scolds.

“Hey! Who managed to play in front of Jay Chou earlier this year?”

“You boast as if he actually knew that was you. Or did you forget, Chris Zanders?”

“He knows me by face! That’s enough for me.”

“Will you two cut it out? I’m starving!” Ten interjects.

“Can we talk about food, later? I feel like that’s all I’m going to remember and not the chords.” Chenle pouts.

“And besides, it’s hard to dance on a full stomach.” Sicheng adds.

“Wow, okay, then. Didn’t need to shut me down like that.” Ten retorts.

“That’s your fault, though?”

“Don’t need your attitude, Sichengie.”

“Oh, please. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Chenle comments. “Be thankful you don’t live with him.”

“Hey! I’m the only one responsible in our house aside from Kun – ge!” Sicheng defends himself.

“That’s because you’re the second eldest. If you weren’t responsible enough then he would’ve kicked you out.”

“Your house sounds fun.” Ten interjects.

“No, it’s not. I have to live through Dejun – ge’s loud snoring every. Single. Night.”

“That’s on you for picking the room right next to him.”

“Can we please just focus on the task at hand?” Chenle tries to dismiss the conversation. Clearly, he’s lost against Sicheng this time.

“Alright, then. Let’s go over it one more time to make sure we got it right.” Sicheng orders they younger.

“Can’t you do it yourselves? My fingers hurt from playing too long.” Chenle whines as he caresses his fingers.

“What’s with you?” Sicheng laughs.

“Just one more time and then we’ll take a break.” Ten pleads.

“Fine.” The younger grunts before he prepares himself again.

“Break? Again? Didn’t we just have a break earlier?” Sicheng looks back at Ten and Chenle.

“That wasn’t a break, we were just talking!”

Suddenly, Taeyong walks into the dance floor with water bottles in his hands. “Here, just in case you need more.” He smiles as he places them down.

“Thank you, hyung.” The three choruses.

“How’s it going? The practice I mean.”

“It’s okay. We pretty much got everything done. We’re just polishing now.” Ten informs.

“See? And you two were so reluctant in doing this.”

“To be honest, I prefer hacking over dancing.” Sicheng confesses.

“Hey, it doesn’t hurt anyone to have a hobby outside of this life, you know?” Taeyong consoles.

“I agree with hyung. I’ve been getting into knitting lately!” Chenle interjects. “I even made a hamster plushie for Jisung the other day.”

“See? Maybe you two should pick dancing as a hobby.”

“Okay, hyung. We’ll do that.” Ten smiles as Sicheng nods along.

“Right, I’ll leave you to it. Good luck!” Taeyong bids as he starts to walk away from the three. Once he was out of the room, the three continued their practice.

“Hold on, do you have your outfits for tomorrow?” Chenle asks all of a sudden. This takes the older two by surprise.

“Oh, we were just thinking of wearing normal clothes. Nothing too fancy.” Ten supplies.

“Oh, I see. But if you need some clothes, I know Jaemin hyung brought his entire closet back here.”

“Thanks, though I don’t think Jaemin would want us touching his stuff.”

“Hey, Jaemin hyung has his reasons.” Chenle defends.

“We know. And we think you guys have the right to speak up about it.” Sicheng interjects. “If it makes you feel better, I talked to Taeyong hyung and Taeil hyung about it the other day. So, I don’t know? Expect them to talk to you guys in a couple days?”

“Thanks, though I don’t think any one of the Dreamies would listen to them. Maybe Jisung? But definitely not Jaemin hyung or Renjun hyung.” Chenle informs.

“It never hurts to try, right?” Ten interjects.

“Whatever the outcome is, I don’t wanna think about it.” Chenle waves off. “Let’s just finish practicing so we can all head back.”

“Well said, Ah Chen.” Sicheng agrees.

“Okay! And a one, two, three!” Ten exclaims.

It was finally D – day. Mark, Jaemin and Jeno were tasked into picking up the _guests_ and bringing them over to Neo Zone. Taeyong, Jungwoo, Haechan, and Renjun are in position as well in Neo Zone. Johnny and Doyoung are already on standby by the dungeon, or the warehouse where all the fun stuff happens. The rest of the Moonwalkers squad are back in HQ to oversee the entire operation along with Taeil. The remaining members are back at the apartment on standby as well.

“Do you think they’ll suspect us or anything like that?” Comes Jeno’s concern.

“Will you stop that? When have we ever had our cover blown?” Jaemin tries to console him.

“Jaemin’s right. We just gotta trust our gut, you know?” Mark adds.

“I mean, I know we did everything right, but I just have a bad feeling about all of this.” Jeno informs.

“We haven’t even started yet and you’re already worried? Come on, don’t be like that.”

“Trust yourself, alright?” Jaemin coos.

A few minutes later, and they’ve arrived at the apartment complex. They quickly sent a text to one of their guests informing them that their ride is already here. They sent a quick _we’ll be on our way down_ before Mark pockets his phone.

“They’re on their way down. Remember, poker faces, alright? We cannot fuck this up.” Mark reminds the two.

“Copy.” Jaemin and Jeno chorus.

Soon, their seven guests were already climbing inside their limo and saying their greetings.

“It’s nice of you to invite us.” One of them greets.

“Please, this is all part of our package deal.” Mark informs them with a smile.

“So, where to?”

“Neo Zone; the best place in Seoul.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that place.” One of their guests speaks up. “I heard it’s the perfect place for all sorts of entertainment.”

“Exactly why we’re heading there. We’ll be over at Neo Zone in eight minutes.” Mark informs. His voice booms through the comms and everyone back in HQ and in Neo Zone held in their breaths, unable to move. This was it. The moment of truth.

Ten minutes later, Mark, Jeno, Jaemin, along with their seven guests all walk inside Neo Zone. The place was closed for the day incase things go south so no patrons would be able to see the bloodshed unfold.

“This seems like fancy place.” One of them comments. “And it smells nice in here, too.”

“Of course, I always choose my venues carefully. And our entertainers for tonight are one of the best in the industry.” Mark informs.

“You sure do put a lot of effort into wooing your clients, Daesung – ssi.”

“Ah, that’s not it. Keeping a good relationship with my clients is one of my pillars.” Mark rebuts. As they walk further inside, they finally meet up with Taeyong. “Ah, Mr. Lee! It’s nice of you to join us!” He exclaims as he shakes hand with Taeyong.

“Of course. You told me you were bringing your clients over so I made sure to personally prepare the place for you.” Taeyong replies. “These must be your clients?”

“Yes. They like to be kept anonymous so no names for them.”

“Of course. I understand. Right, Jiwoo! Prepare the drinks for Daesung’s guests, will you?”

Jisung appears and nods along to what Taeyong said and left to fetch the drinks.

“Oh, it’s that kid again.” One of them points out.

“Ah, Jiwoo? Yeah. He sometimes works here as a part timer. He’s a hardworking kid is all I can say.”

“And you let him?” One of them looks at Taeyong. “How old is that kid?”

“He’s an adult. He’ll be fine.” Taeyong dismisses.

“Still, shouldn’t he be in school or something? Not living like this.”

“It’s not like Jiwoo has a choice anyway.” Taeyong laughs. “He’s happy with his life, so why should we intervene? Not everyone lives a happy life.”

“Right, shall we head inside? I think the performers are ready.” Mark interrupts.

“Oh yeah. Right this way then.” Taeyong walks them over to the elevated dance floor and lets them sit at one of the booths down below. Jisung comes back and serves them their drinks. “That’s on the house.” Taeyong smiles. “The performers will come out in just a moment.” He informs as he signals for Jeno and Jaemin to leave with him.

“Please, enjoy the show!” Mark says as the lights dim down.

Ten and Sicheng walks out into the dance floor and takes their position. Ten was clad in white while Sicheng was in black. The three of them had a mask on to hide their faces. Chenle appears a second later and takes his seat at the grand piano beside the dance floor.

Chenle starts to play the intro and both Ten and Sicheng are now facing away from each other and ready to start their routine. Soon after, Chenle sings the words;

_Thought I found a way out.  
But you never go away,  
So I guess I gotta stay now_

_Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here  
Even if it takes all night or a hundred years.  
Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near  
Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear_

Without noticing, the members who were in the room couldn’t help but be captivated by the three’s performance. There was just something so melancholic in the way Chenle sings and paired with Ten and Sicheng’s perfectly choreographed dance. And the way they perfectly encapsulate the emotion of the song. Teayong makes a mental note to give his members a pat on the back for a wonderful job.

_Isn't it lovely, all alone?  
Heart made of glass, my mind of stone  
Tear me to pieces, skin to bone  
Hello, welcome home_

The performance ends with a standing ovation even with the very little audience they had. The three all take a bow and exit the dance floor.

“That was amazing! Who are they?” One of their guests exclaims.

“They’re our resident performers.” Taeyong informs. “I’m glad you enjoyed their performance.”

“Most definitely! There was something so tragic in the way they delivered the song and dance. Please send our words to them.”

“Of course.” Taeyong nods.

“Kudos to them. Lovely was a hard song to cover in the first place.”

“Right, let’s give them some time to prepare for the next stage.” Mark informs.

“There’s more?”

“Of course!”

“Hyung, I don’t feel so good.” One of their guests whisper to the other guest.

“Me, too.” The other agreed. “Daesung – ssi, be honest. What was in that drink?”

“Drink? Oh, this is just plain whiskey. Why?” He informs as he takes a sip.

“If I find out that you spiked our drinks, you can best bet there’s a bounty on your head.”

“Come on now!” Mark laughs. “I invited you here to have a good time! Why would I do such a thing?” Three of Mark’s guests gave him a warning look, but he just shrugged it off and offered a smile. _The scent’s working_ , he thought. Haechan did a good job. He may not be able to smell the room due to the nose filter he’s wearing, but from the looks on their faces, it seems like it’s doing its job.

“I’m gonna head to the bathroom.” One of them speak up. As he stands up, his knees buckle and drops to the ground. “What the fuck, Daesung – ssi?” 

“Man, you guys sure have pretty weak alcohol tolerances if you’re buzzed after just one shot of whiskey.” Mark teases.

“You – you – “ The guest wasn’t able to finish his sentence before losing consciousness.

“Hyung!” One of them screamed.

Soon after, all of them starts to lose consciousness one by one. Mark just sat there and watched it all unfold with a grin. Finally. Fucking finally. After ten horrendous years, it all came down to this. Once Mark gives the signal, Jeno, Jisung, Renjun and Haechan walk closer and start to tie them up one by one with zip ties.

“Not fair! I didn’t even get to join the party!” Jungwoo complains as he walks closer to the group.

“Ah, hyung. Don’t be sad. We won’t know if they’ll be cooperative at all. So, you’ll still get to have some fun with them afterwards.” Mark consoles. Sicheng, Ten, and Chenle soon joins them after.

“Are they knocked out good?” Chenle directs towards the group.

“Yeah!” Jisung exclaims.

“Would you believe it? My prototype worked?” Haechan stands up for a while to look at everyone’s reaction.

“You were the only one doubting yourself, Haechannie. Told you, you could do it.” Ten pats him by the shoulder.

“Although we gotta hurry up. We only have about a three-hour window before they start waking up. Are Jaemin and Jeno ready?”

“Yeah, the van’s ready.” Taeyong informs. “Let’s go, then.”

Each of the member drag one of their guests to the waiting van by the back. As soon as Jaemin sees them, he immediately opens the back door and helps them in hauling the unconscious bodies inside. As soon as all seven were accounted for, Jungwoo and Jaemin climbs in as well and signals for Jeno to hit the pedal.

“We’ll see you there.” Taeyong bids as he climbs into the other waiting van. “Kun,” he comms. “You can close off Neo Zone. We’re on our way to the warehouse.”

“Alright!” Kun acknowledges. Taeyong could hear the furious tapping of the keyboard from the other end. “Closing in ten seconds.” He hears the computer-generated voice counting down from ten to one before he sees all the lights start to switch off one by one. He knew investing in an automated lock system was worth it.

“Are we good to go?” Ten asks from the driver seat.

“Let’s go!” Mark exclaims all the way from the back.

The Dungeon, as what it’s notoriously called, is basically just an abandoned warehouse owned by the Neos. It’s not entirely abandoned per se, seeing as it’s filled with smuggled firearms from Mexico and Peru and an even bigger storage space for Doyoung’s drugs. On top of that, this is where all the fun stuff happens. All the interrogations, all the torturing, and where all the killing happens. It’s practically Johnny’s favorite place since it just so happens to be right beside Mt. Seoraksan. The convenience? Since the mountain is blanketed with snow almost all throughout the year, it’s the perfect place to hide a body. One could say there’s a cemetery at the foot of the mountain with how many bodies are buried there; from the lowest of the scums to Seoul’s ex-mayor who angered Taeil a little too much.

Three hours later, the two vans have arrived at the warehouse and was welcomed by Johnny and Doyoung.

“Traffic?” Johnny teases as the members clamber out of the vans one by one.

“The tollgate was jampacked today for some strange reason.” Jeno says jokingly as he opens the back door and reveals seven groggy men with zip tied limbs and duck taped mouths. Johnny and Doyoung helped Jeno and Jaemin into dragging the seven men inside the warehouse and _chucking_ them on the floor.

“Ah, this sure is a sight to see.” Jungwoo muses as he observes the scene.

“Stop talking and help us bring them here!” Ten whines as he haphazardly let go of one of the seven men. Once all seven of them were gathered inside the warehouse, Chenle and Jisung took off the duck tapes on their mouths.

“Hello!” Taeyong greets. Johnny does as well.

“What the fuck is this?” One of them spits out.

“A little reunion?” Jungwoo jokes.

“These seven men, I think it’s time we learned their names, yeah?” Sicheng starts. “From left to right they are Jeong Hoseok, Kim Taehyung, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Park Jimin, Jeon Jungkook, and Kim Namjoon. It was so easy to learn your names. Who knew all it took was a few diggings around the dark web?”

“Oh, so you think you’re all high and mighty that we used our real names for transactions and you guys probably don’t?” Yoongi retorts.

“I mean, that makes tracing so much easier, right?” Haechan bites back. “Besides,” he crouches down to Yoongi’s level. “Who in their right mind would use their real names for illegal things?”

Yoongi was taken aback for a second. This was the kid that appeared in the video. In fact, he notices that three out of four of them were right here in front of him, and that the three performers from earlier are also here judging by their outfits.

“Let’s make this quick.” Doyoung cuts to the chase. “We just want to know why you did it.”

“And who are you?” Seokjin spits at them.

“Oh, how rude of me. I’m Doyoung. A first-year student who managed to survive your little stunt ten years ago.”

“How? I thought only the four them survived?”

“Obviously that’s a lie.” Doyoung taunts.

“There’s twenty-one of us who survived.” Taeyong adds. “But it doesn’t matter anymore because you lot are never going to see the light of day again.”

“How sure are you?” Namjoon teases. “In case you haven’t noticed, we were just playing along.”

“What?” Some of the members let out.

“Oh, don’t look surprised! You had two of your men spy on us back in our apartment, so in retaliation, we planted a mole in yours. Although ours was done way, way, _way_ back.” Jimin informs.

“That’s impossible!” Taeyong screams. “There’s only twenty-one members in this family, no more, no less!”

“That’ makes it twenty then since one of them betrayed you.” Jungkook adds.

Johnny couldn’t take it anymore and walks closer to Jungkook and lands a punch on his cheek.

“Talk.” He demands. “Who’s the mole? Who is it?! And since when?”

“Shouldn’t you know? It’s someone close to you, dare I say, personally?” Seokjin taunts. Johnny punches Seokjin this time.

Johnny couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. No. It can’t be. There’s absolutely no way that this is true. Taeyong on the other hand was confused and sends Johnny a look, but Johnny just looks away from him.

Frustrated, Taeyong does a hand signal and Jungwoo steps forward holding a cushion pin with needles poked in it.

“You won’t feel anything, I promise.” Jungwoo teases.

“Hold on a second!” Jimin pleads.

“Tell us who the mole is.” Taeyong demands. “And who do you work for?”

“You’d have to kill us before we tell you who we work for and why we did it. Besides, I think your friend over there knows who the mole is. He’s just in denial.” Taehyung supplies. “Don’t you?” Taehyung looks over to Johnny.

“That’s not true! I know them! They would never do that!” Johnny defends.

“Who? Hyung, who are they referring to?” Renjun lets out.

“It’s not them! No way!” Johnny reiterates.

“Oh, come on. We’re all humans here, aren’t we? And humans are vulnerable to their greed.” Namjoon taunts.

“That’s bullshit! Stop playing mind games with me!”

“Johnny – ah, it’s not you, is it?” Taeyong blurts out.

“What? Why the fuck would I do that? If I wanted to take over this mafia, I could’ve just shot you in the head when I have the chance! Why the fuck would I go through all this trouble of hiding myself?!”

“Good point.” Doyoung speaks up. “Well, if they don’t want to talk, then that’s fine. We can always find out on our own. We’ve done it before; we could do it again.”

“Are you saying we don’t need them anymore, Doie?” Ten asks in a fake innocent voice.

“They’re all yours, Jungwoo – ah.” Doyoung says with an evil smile on his face.

Soon enough, Seokjin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung, Jimin, and Jungkook were engulfed in the same smell back in Neo Zone.

“Oh, what’s this? You’re moving us again?” Hoseok starts.

“Sorta, yeah.” Jeno teases as he flashes them his infamous eye smile.

After a few seconds, the seven of them became unconscious again and drop to the ground before Jungwoo pokes them on their left carotid artery with the poison dipped needles. Moments later, the Neos notice that the seven men started to foam at the mouth. Another moment passes and Renjun approaches them and checks their pulse one by one.

“All clear.” Renjun announces once he’s done.

“That’s it?” Chenle exclaims. “No blood? No violent killing?”

“Didn’t we agree to not spill blood? Now all Jeno gotta do is bury them in the mountain next door and we’re all good to go back to Seoul.” Mark informs.

“Hold up?” Jeno looks at everyone in disbelief. “I’m burying them on my own?”

“Well, since Lucas isn’t here, and I’m pretty sure Johnny hyung’s in a sour mode, then yes. You’re doing it alone.”

“Jisung – ah, come with me.” Jeno orders with a pout.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Jisung says in a sullen voice.

“I’ll come help.” Sicheng offers.

“Thank you, hyung. Let’s just get this over with. It’s probably in the negatives there right now seeing as it’s almost winter.” Jeno complains.

“You love playing in snow anyway!” Jisung tries.

“Not when there’s like a hundred bodies buried underneath there!”

“Hm, good point.” Sicheng jokes.

“Is it okay if we leave you to it?” Taeyong calls out. “I need to talk to Johnny for a while.”

“Sure thing, hyung.” Haechan responds. “Johnny hyung, aren’t you going with Taeyong hyung?”

“No, I’m heading back to Seoul. There’s something that I need to do.” Johnny informs the group as he heads for the exit.

“Johnny.” Taeyong calls him. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” He asks as he walks closer to Johnny.

“I promise you; I’m going to get to the bottom of this immediately.”

“One of them said you knew the mole personally. They could’ve been bluffing, but judging by your reaction earlier, it seems like you know who they are. I need a name.”

“I’m not entirely sure if I’m correct, but I have a guess. Well, two guesses.”

“Names, Johnny. I need a name.”

“One of them is Sungchan. I don’t know. That kid clings to Jaehyun like a leech and its possible that he’s seen some vital information and is tipping our enemies. Number two is a reach, but I’m guessing its Joshua.”

“Doesn’t Joshua handle your finances? It’s possible that he could be who they were referring to.”

“God, Yong – ah. I don’t want it to be Joshua. I can’t imagine it. And Sungchan? I treated that kid as if he was own.”

“We can’t be too sure about that. Even Donghyuck managed to betray us.”

“Let me think about this before we do anything rash. Don’t try to find Joshua or do anything to Sungchan. I want to catch them red handed for my own peace of mind, okay?”

“But they said there’s only twenty of us left since one betrayed us. What are the odds that it’s a founding member?”

“Come on, do you really think any one of us would betray each other? After all that we’ve been through?”

“Still, we can’t be too relaxed. As that Namjoon guy said, we are still humans after all.”

“Let me work this out first before we start pointing fingers. We don’t want innocent blood on our hands.”

“Okay, as you wish. I won’t intervene.”

“Thank you.”

Jeno, Jisung, and Sicheng are now inside the van with the bodies and on their way to the foot of the mountain to dispose of the _evidences_.

“I can’t believe I have to be here again twice in a week.” Jisung complains as he fiddles with his hoodie.

“Twice? Who was the unlucky one?” Sicheng looks at him.

“Some random congressman who was charged with money laundering.”

“Then what do we gotta do with his business?” Jeno asks from the driver’s seat.

“He owed Doyoung hyung a huge amount of money. It’s why he was laundering money in the first place.”

“So, he started stealing money because he owes Doyoung hyung money?” Sicheng repeats.

“Yeah, something like that.” Jisung deadpans.

“Wait, why does he owe Doyoung hyung money anyway?”

“He bought drugs and couldn’t pay up. Doyoung hyung gave him a six-month extension on the deadline but he just wasn’t fast enough and hyung got impatient.”

“That’s very… unfortunate? He was willing to pay up if he was laundering money. So why couldn’t Doyoung hyung wait a bit more?”

“He’s been… out of it? Is that even the right term? Since, you know, that tragic accident back in Barcelona where he lost almost all of his men.”

“Ah, that.” Jeno comments.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose your entire squad in one night.” Sicheng mumbles.

“Me too. Knowing that Doyoung hyung treated his men like they were his real brothers.” Jeno adds.

“But anyways, let’s not talk about these when there’s literally dead bodies behind us. It’s giving me the creeps.”

“Agreed.” Jisung agrees.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, they haul out the corpses and Jeno immediately begins to dig deep.

“It’s gotta be at least ten feet deep since there’s so many of them.” Sicheng orders.

“Hyung, I love you; I really do but there’s like thirty inches of snow here. I haven’t even reached the ground yet.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” Sicheng jokes. “Sungie, go help your hyung.”

Jisung nods with a pout but grabs a shovel nonetheless and helps Jeno with the digging. Ten minutes later, Sicheng joins as well and it takes the three about three hours to dig two feet under the ground.

“Let’s stop here. They’ll be fine here. Besides, it’s snowing a lot anyway so the smell won’t be as bad.” Sicheng orders.

“The wolves would eat them up anyway.” Jeno adds.

“Well, if we don’t hurry up then the wolves would be after us instead.” Jisung deadpans.

By midnight, Johnny arrives in Seoul and quickly rushes to the nearest pub he can find to clear his mind. If his intuition is right, he’s going to need a lot of alcohol in his system before he confronts them. He walks inside and the loud music was somewhat calming for him. He sits by the bar and orders a glass of whiskey before downing it one gulp. He orders again and just as he was about to annihilate the drink, he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Slow down on the alcohol or you’re going to ruin your kidney before you reach thirty.”

Johnny puts down the glass and sees the person sit next to him. “Well, it’s nice to know that you’re still alive.”

“Jaehyun told me the mission was a success and that you’ve finally got your ten-year long revenge on those bastards so I decided to congratulate you.”

“It’s looking more like a catastrophe if you ask me.”

“Oh, how come?”

“Before they took their last breath, they confessed that one of us is a mole and now Taeyong’s racking his brain on who could it be.”

“Well, do you have any idea on who could it be?”

“I have my guess, but I told Taeyong a different name just to throw him off for a while. I want to talk to that person first.”

“Ooo, did you just lie to your leader? That’s a criminal offense even in your own mafia law.”

“I did it to protect him. I can’t – “

“Can’t what? Bear the fact that he betrayed you? That he betrayed all of you?”

“What’s with you? You act like you know who I’m talking about.”

“You’re only like this whenever he’s concerned. You’ve got worry written all over your face you might as well tattoo his name on your forehead.”

“This is serious! It’s not just me against him. It’s him against an entire mafia. What if Taeyong finds out? What if Taeil hyung finds out? He’s not gonna live through Christmas if they find out who it is.”

“You’re the underboss, aren’t you? Can’t you do anything?” And this takes Johnny by surprise.

“Ho – how did you know?”

“I’m not dumb, Johnny. You think I don’t overhear Yangyang talking to your members from time to time? It’s your fault for making our offices right next to each other.”

“In my defense, Hong and Liu are in alphabetical order and you know how Ten likes things to be in order.”

“Talk to him. Tell him to give it up; that his cover’s blown and he should just confess. Maybe Taeyong would somehow show him some mercy if he gives himself up.”

“I’ll do that.”

“You’re the only one he listens to. You’re the only who can get through him,”

“I know, and I’ll do that.” Johnny finally takes a swig of whiskey. “Thanks, Shua.”

“No problem.” Joshua offers him a smile.

“Will you be disappearing again after this?”

“Most likely, yeah. I don’t wanna be here when his cover’s blown.”

“I agree.”

“What?” Joshua sounds appalled. “You don’t want me here?”

“No! I meant I don’t want you to be here when shit hits the fan. It’s better that you’re far away. Because from the way I see it, you’re the only one I can trust right now. Who knows who else he’s negotiating with.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m honored that you trust me. But don’t just go blindingly trusting anybody, alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it. But you know, I feel like this is our first conversation where I didn’t want to strangle you.”

“I’m honored, then.”

“Alright, I’ll be off. Remember, talk to him first, alright?”

“Sure, sure. Take care. See you around, I guess.”

“Yeah, see you around.”

Joshua gives him one last smile before heading towards to the exit and disappearing into the night. Johnny orders one more glass and downs it instantly. If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s procrastinating at things he should be doing immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Were your guesses right on who the masked men were from ten years ago? Who do you think is the mole?
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are much much welcome!


	17. Seventh Sense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the irregularity that’s hard to understand  
> There’s a story that’s deeply hidden.  
> Eyes are being opened through this song.  
> Your dreams are being read,  
> It’s being awakened from a deep sleep,  
> My seventh sense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I'm back with another update because I know you're all dying to know who the mole is so here we are! Now now, let's not get disappointed with him. I'm sure he had his reasons and we'll soon be finding out why. 
> 
> Also, in this chapter we're finally going to find out the only couple in this entire story (or is it,,, hmmm can you smell a love triangle?)
> 
> Anyway, happy reading!

Taeyong was sat in Taeil’s office with the older standing by the window and admiring the morning sun. He invited Taeil to an emergency meeting this morning to discuss what went down last night.

The elimination of those seven bastards who ruined their lives was supposed to feel invigorating, euphoric, maddening even, but it doesn’t. He feels nothing but rage and disappointment. To think that one of these men, a person he’s known for ten years, betrayed him, betrayed them. _If I have to skin alive every single one of you, I would._

Who could have done such a thing? No, who even had that much resentment in them that they could do such a thing? For the ten years that he’s known these twenty other people, who could have the time and resources to conspire against them and go unnoticed? Could it have been Johnny? No, judging from his reactions last night, there was no way it was Johnny. Kun? Kun could pull it off since he knows The Neos’ network like the back of his hand. But Kun would never do that. Kun loves and cares for all of them. Taeil? Nah, that’s too much work for him. What if it was one of the Dreamies? What if it was Jisung? He had a perfectly solid reason to do such a thing. But that wouldn’t make sense since this puts the entire mafia in harm’s way and everyone knows Jisung cares so much for the Dreamies. Unless it’s one of the members who have been too silent this entire time. The members who disappear for weeks at a time only to resurface as if nothing happened. The members who just smile and nod at everything, never breaking their façade. No, it can’t be. This can’t be.

“I just don’t understand anything. Clearly, them falling into our trap was too good to be true. But then again, they did drop a bombshell on us so I guess that evens it out.” Taeyong explains. “Like, there has to be plot hole for all of this.”

“Did you ever thought that maybe they just said that to rile us up?” Taeil counters.

“It was too specific to be a lie. They said it’s someone Johnny knows personally. It could have been any one of us.”

“Doesn’t Johnny have a lover or something?”

“I mean…” Taeyong was unable to continue. “Johnny hasn’t mentioned anything about him having a lover... Unless it was a one night stand where he talked too much and exposed himself.”

“But Johnny is very careful on who he associates with. He knows his status. He wouldn’t just give away sensitive information just like that.”

“That is true.”

“There’s too many sides to this story. There are too many suspects, too many unanswered questions. For one, we still don’t know their motive for committing such a heinous crime ten years ago. Number two, where were they these past ten years? Why didn’t we hear from them for so long?” Taeil rambles.

“Hyung, have we ever thought about the fact that they’re not really dead?”

“What do you mean?” Taeil asks confused.

“If the men from last night were really them, then why wouldn’t they reveal who the mole is? Like what reason aside from riling us up would they have to keep the mole a secret? Their cover’s blown, all of their transactions would soon be uncovered, so why do they need to hide it? Unless they’re not really dead yet and they’ll know that we’ll scramble to find out who the mole is to distract us.”

“Hm, you make a good point.”

“Think about, hyung. They managed to stay hidden for ten years like you said and all of a sudden, a single video is all it takes to lure them out? I didn’t expect it to be that easy considering their caliber. Unless they want us to think that we got them but in reality, they’re the ones who has us in chokehold. They want us to lower our guard and that’s when they’ll finish us off.”

“Now that I think about it, that does make a good argument. And to think that the video was uploaded on an anonymous page with no prior posts whatsoever.”

“I’m thinking that whoever we killed last night aren’t the real men we’re looking for.”

“So, are you saying we managed to lure out fakes?”

“There’s a possibility that they were trying to impersonate the real ones and they thought that that was their chance to prove themselves or something.”

“That’s… disastrous. We ended up killing innocent lives!”

“But that’s not our fault! They tricked us! We thought they were our enemies!”

“Still! We killed innocent people! Now we’ve got blood on our hands! How are we going to inform everybody?”

“Leave that to me! I’ll figure something out.”

“Jungwoo isn’t going to like this.”

“He’ll be fine! He’s accidentally killed the wrong targets before. What’s seven more?”

“Taeyong – ah, be careful of what you say later. The last thing we need is for the mole to make a move.”

“Yes, hyung. I will.”

“Then, we should inform the entire mafia to be cautious on who they meet and transact with. We can’t let another mole in our system.”

“No, hyung. This doesn’t concern the entire mafia. If we do that it’ll just cause a panic. Let’s keep this within ourselves.”

“Alright, we’ll do as you say. Let’s gather the members and hold a meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll inform everyone."

tae_dragon: meeting in neo zone NOW. Do not be late.

“Hyung, wake up. Come on! We have a meeting with Taeyong hyung right now. We can’t be late.”

Johnny had managed to come home in one piece last night despite throwing up in a bathroom stall three times. But as soon as he entered their hotel room, he couldn’t even be bothered to take off his shoes nor lie on the bed. Apparently, the carpet was a far more delectable choice for sleeping.

“Hyung, Taeyong hyung sounds really mad in his text. I don’t think he’ll tolerate tardiness this time around.”

Johnny finally awakens from his sleep but is still unable to open his eyes.

“I know you’re awake, you know? You just moved your finger.”

“What time is it?” He mumbles as stretches to wake himself more.

“It’s past eight am. Taeyong hyung wants us there right this instant.”

“What’s he on about?” He mumbles before yawning.

“He said he has something important to tell us and that no one is allowed to be late.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll just take a shower.”

“Okay, let’s leave together.”

“Jaehyun?”

“Yeah?” he says as he turns back around to face Johnny.

“Nothing. Just kinda missed you.”

“Missed me? We were together this entire time! How could you have missed me?”

“I don’t know. Just kinda wanna say that.”

“Hyung, go take a shower. I think you’re still drunk.” Jaehyun jokes as he turns back around and heads for the bedroom.

“God, I hope I still am.”

By nine am, all nineteen of the members were gathered in Neo Zone and are already dreading the agenda of today’s meeting. Weren’t they supposed to be celebrating because those seven men were finally dead? Why does it feel like they just got themselves into an even bigger situation? So, when Taeyong and Taeil walked in with ice cold faces, everyone immediately sat up straight and put on their serious faces as well.

“There’s a traitor among us.” Taeyong announces.

The words hang heavily around them. No one dared to make a move or even utter a sound. One could say that they could even cut the tension with a sword with how thick it is.

“Someone sold us off to the enemies.” Taeil adds.

At this, the room erupted into a fit of questions and loud blabbering.

_That’s impossible? Who would do such a thing?_

_Aren’t we a family? Why would someone do that?_

_Who’s that bastard? I’ll hack them with my knife in one swing!_

_How could they do that? Don’t they love us?_

_This is too much. Why did none of us see this beforehand?_

”How could there still be an enemy? We killed them, didn’t we? With Haechan hyung’s poison and Jungwoo hyung’s needles, surely, they’re dead right? I mean, I even buried their bodies back at Mt. Seoraksan!” Jisung argues.

“They were all fakes!” Taeyong starts. “They’re probably still out there! No group who managed to annihilate an entire school could be lured out by a simple video! I expected there to be bloodshed, a push and pull, but the Dreamies managed to bring them out to Neo Zone by just a petty drug deal? Clearly they were on to us and those fakes were ready to die!”

“Wait, hyung! That doesn’t make sense!” Renjun interrupts as he stands up. “If they were fake, how could I recognize their voices? And clearly?!”

“It’s so easy to impersonate a voice if you study it long enough, Renjunnie.” Taeil supplies.

“No, that can’t be! That means I failed to recognize the real one from the fake!” Renjun screams back.

“Hey! Calm down, okay? It’s not your fault.” Yangyang tries to soothe Renjun.

“If it makes you feel any better, we wouldn’t have made progress if you hadn’t recognized their voices, however fake they may be. We managed to uncover so much more because of it.” Johnny consoles.

“He’s right, Renjunnie. Don’t feel bad. You did good nonetheless.” Taeyong adds. “But the most infuriating one of it all is that one of us is a mole and is supplying vital information to the enemies that’s why they’re always one step ahead of us.”

Taeyong’s words pierced through everyone’s mind. At this point, no one could even say anything anymore. Because what else is there? They got the wrong people, and to make things worse, there’s a mole amongst them. This is worse than a defeat. All of them had a look of horror on their faces.

“We need to find the mole quickly.” Kun orders.

“But how?” Jaehyun asks.

“Simple.” Taeyong looks at him. “We just have to find out who stinks the most since they’ve been digging dirt all this time. Of course, it’s not as easy as it seems.”

“Yong – ah, I think you’ve forgotten what we talked about last night. I told you to let me handle it first, right? That I want to catch them red handed for my own peace of mind.” Johnny speaks up.

“I agreed because your mind last night was going at one hundred miles per hour. I did it so you could calm down. But now that you’ve calmed down, I’m telling you now that we need to catch them right now.” Taeyong counters.

“But it’s too soon!”

“How is it too soon? With every second we waste around here arguing they could be sending information to our enemies already! They could be doing it right now as we speak!”

The room became silent after Taeyong spoke.

“It’s the perfect time to tell us your thoughts, Johnny. You said you had an idea on who the mole is. You told me it’s either Sungchan or Joshua yet you quickly debunked your own theory. Now tell me, who’s the mole?”

“I don’t know! I only said those two because I know them personally yet they’re an outsider to the mafia.”

“So, you don’t know?”

“No, I don’t know.” Johnny says as he looks down.

“Stop protecting the traitor, Johnny. Your loyalty lies to the rest of us, not them.”

“I’m not protecting anyone!”

“Think of what will happen to Chenle and Jisung if their private information lands on the enemies’ hands!”

“Why are you provoking me as if I’m the traitor? I don’t know who!”

“Fine, you can tell me later. Anybody else wanna help?”

“I’d like to help.” Jaehyun replies.

“Alright, Jaehyunnie. How can you help?”

“Well, we can start by looking into who they’ve been in contact with for the past six months?”

“Alright, let’s start with that. Everyone, you’re all dismissed. Capos, I need you in my office right after.”

Taeyong was the law and everyone immediately stood up and bowed to him before rushing out of the room. The three capos all grouped together and made their way upstairs to Taeyong’s office followed by Johnny and Taeil. The rest of the members had head out and went to do their responsibilities for the day, well, except for the Dreamies.

“My bet is Sicheng hyung.” Haechan whispers loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Are you crazy? Why would Sicheng hyung betray us like this?” Jeno argues.

“But he’s the one that has access to all our intel. It would make sense that he’s been selling us out!”

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” Renjun debates. “There’s no way he’d do that! Sicheng hyung cares for us a lot!”

“What if it’s Yuta hyung?” Jaemin interposes.

“I know you hate him, but Yuta hyung did not once cross my mind as a traitor.” Dejun interjects.

“Hm, true. Besides, he’s been friends with Taeyong hyung and Johnny hyung way before the incident happened. His bond with those two runs deep.” Hendery adds.

“It’s not one of you guys, right?” Lucas looks at everyone.

“I don’t think our enemies would take us seriously if you ask me. I mean, we all look like lame losers.” Jisung jokes.

“True, true!” Yangyang adds.

“Okay, but what if it’s Sungchan?” Chenle suggests.

“Nah, no way. He’d know that Jaehyun hyung wouldn’t hesitate to end his life if he got found out.” Dejun argues.

“Should we find out on our own?” Haechan proposes.

“And get scolded by Taeyong hyung when we fuck up? Nah, dude. I’m choosing life.” Hendery counters.

Sicheng, Ten, and Jungwoo are riding their van on their way back to HQ when a sudden notification pops up on Sicheng’s phone.

“What the fuck?” Sicheng mutters out loud.

“What? What is it?” Ten looks over his phone.

“Remember that opium deal with Mr. Chwe back in January?”

“Yeah? I was there. What about it?” Jungwoo urges Sicheng to continue.

“Remember how there were some discrepancies in the figures and how we couldn’t trace the cashflow anymore?”

“Yeah! I told Doyoung about it and even he said he couldn’t do anything about it. Taeil hyung got so mad about it.” Ten adds.

“Well, it looks like I just found where the missing ten million dollars is.” Sicheng deadpans. “And I think I know who the mole is.”

“Wait, I don’t get it. How is the missing money related to who the mole is?” Jungwoo looks confused.

“Take a look on where the money is now.” Sicheng shows his phone screen to Ten and Jungwoo.

“Oh my God!” Ten and Jungwoo exclaim at the same time.

“I’m sending this to Kun – ge. We need to get back to HQ asap!”

Back at Neo Zone, the big three and the three capos are currently in a follow up meeting to discuss further matters.

“Hyung, how are we going to find out who the mole is?” Kun asks.

“We can’t trust anyone anymore.” Yuta adds.

“It’s every man for himself. We can’t even trust Taeyong hyung.” Mark rambles.

“You’re right.” Taeyong looks at Mark. “You can’t trust me either.”

“How are we going to catch him?” Taeil asks.

“I have my guesses. Thankfully he’s not in the room with us.” Taeyong smiles.

“Who is it?” Johnny urges. But Taeyong can see the hurt in his eyes.

“Jaehyun.” Taeyong and Kun say at the same time. At this, the entire room turns silent. Taeil couldn’t believe his ears.

“Pardon my honesty, but I’ve been keeping track of everyone in the mafia since the Shanghai sever was up.” Kun starts. “I keep tabs on all the places you’ve been in, people you’ve met, your business and personal cashflow all for the sake of keeping everyone safe. Of course, Taeyong hyung knows about this and I give him a report every week about it. But on the case of Jaehyun lately, his footprints are quite out of the ordinary. There’s been traces of him in all over the place. No matter how much you try to clean up, you’re still bound to miss a few pieces here and there. And he’s been to all sorts of places too; Daegu, back in Busan, Ilsan, Gwanju, and even Geochang in a span of a year. I personally don’t know what businesses he has in these places, but I’m guessing it’s something illegal even to our own accord.”

“Are they paying him?” Mark was dumbfounded.

“Ten times more than his monthly income. But it’s kinda hard to trace since it’s all scattered around the globe under different names.”

“My, God, Jaehyun, why?” Johnny mutters to himself.

“How’d you know?” Kun asks Taeyong.

“Gut feeling? My seventh sense, I guess. You?”

“Remember our fifty thousand dollar VVS diamond heist back in Milan of last year?”

“Yeah, I remember that. It ended fucking terribly if you ask me. We lost the diamond because some unknown guy intercepted our escape route and stole the diamonds right outta my hands!” Yuta remarks.

“Turns out, the diamond is found and is up for sale again.”

“The fuck? Where was it this entire time?”

“Well, guess who the seller is!”

“Lemme guess, it’s one those bastards, isn’t it?” Taeil replies.

“A fine gentleman by the name of Kim Taehyung.” Kun spits out.

“Wait, are you telling us that guy was Kim Taehyung? And he knew of our plans because of Jaehyun hyung? What the fuck?!” Mark exclaims.

“So, he’s become greedy, huh? I’m pretty sure that Taehyung guy paid him.” Yuta adds.

“Of all people, why Jaehyun? And why didn’t I know?” Johnny places his head in his hands.

“Maybe you were too caught up in _playing house_ with him to notice.” Yuta bites back.

“Watch your mouth, Nakamoto!” Johnny threatens.

Just then, Kun receives a text.

“That’s enough!” Taeyong scolds the two. “Kun, call Jaehyun here.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s possible…”

“What do you mean?”

“Sicheng just texted me right now. He said he finally found the missing ten million dollars from last January.”

“The one with Mr. Chwe?” Mark supplies.

“Yeah, he said he managed to trace the cashflow from Mr. Chwe’s bogus bank account to our bank accounts by cross checking.”

“Is that even possible?” Taeil speaks up.

“It is. It just takes weeks to do since he has to go through all the transactions of all the bank accounts of all parties involved.”

“And where’s the money?”

“Well, three million of it is in Jaehyun’s bank account associated with NCT, another three million to the Neos, a million in his personal bank account, another million to Sungchan’s,”

“Sungchan?” Johnny exclaims. “He dragged Sungchan into to this? Is he crazy?”

“The remaining two million is in a bank account in England under the name of Cha Minho.”

“That’s his alias in the ring.” Johnny informs.

“So, the motherfucker has actually been busy all year going against our back and stealing our money.” Taeyong concludes.

“And you didn’t know.” Yuta looks to Johnny.

“How was I supposed to know? I’m busy running a damn company! Like I have the time of day to keep track on what the fuck Jaehyun does by the hour!” Johnny defends himself.

“Hey! There’s no point in arguing now! The damage is done.” Mark tries to stop the two from fighting.

“Wait!” Johnny pleads. “Let me talk to him! I’m sure he has a very valid reason why he’s doing this!”

“He has a lot of explaining to do. Kun, where is he?” Taeyong looks at Kun.

“Based on Sicheng’s last text, he’s still in Seoul.”

“Kun, Mark. Let Jungwoo and Jaemin catch him. If they need backup, have Jeno along. We can’t let him out of our sight.”

“Oh, my. Sicheng just texted me again.” Kun exclaims as he looks at his phone again.

“It’s another bad news, isn’t it?” Taeil confirms.

“Yeah, apparently Jaehyun had just emptied all of his bank accounts related to NCT and the mafia. Including the one in England. It’s all wiped clean!”

“What the fuck?” Taeyong yells.

“Jaehyun, no!” Johnny tries to hold back a sob.

“So, he’s going to run, then.” Taeil adds. “Sounds fun.”

Three hours later, some of the older members, including Mark, Sungchan, and Shotaro were all gathered in the meeting room of Neo Zone.

“Hyung, why did you call us back here?” Kun speaks up.

“I have some troubling news that all of you need to know.” Taeyong brings up.

“But shouldn’t we wait for the others to be here?” Mark adds.

“That’s fine. The meeting will proceed even without those members.” Taeyong counters.

“But why are those two here?” Ten points to Shotaro and Sungchan.

“This matter involves Sungchan and I included Shotaro as well so this can be a warning for him.”

“Wait, me? What did I do?” Sungchan says, dumbfounded.

“Sungchan, do you have any idea on what Jaehyun does on the daily? You’re the one that’s with him most of the time.”

“Hyung does work. He goes on his computer for most of the day and when night falls, he heads to his night club and monitors what happens there.”

“Has he acted suspicious lately?”

“Well, he has been going out of the country so often this past year. Although he doesn’t really tell me where exactly…”

“Has he met anyone that you’re not familiar with?”

“I can’t really answer your question, boss. Jaehyun hyung meets new people every day and it’s hard to say whether they’re a friend or foe.”

“Ever since Sungchan was removed from the ring, he’s been doing mostly office work for Jaehyun so it’s hard for him to know anything, hyung.” Ten explains further.

“Wait, why are we asking what Jaehyun does? Don’t tell me…” Doyoung trails off.

“Jaehyun is the mole.” Taeyong announces. The room erupts in chaos at the mention of Jaehyun’s name.

“How is he the mole? Why? Since when?” Doyoung stands up as he rushes out his questions.

“I don’t know why he decided to betray us like this.”

“When the bastard meant that Johnny hyung knows them personally, he really meant it.” Ten slips as he covers his mouth.

“Wait, I’m confused, what?” Sicheng looks at Ten.

"As friends, Sichengie." Ten tries to brush it off.

"They're together?!"

"Curse this mouth of mine!" Ten exclaims. "Well, there's no point in hiding it now, yeah? Johnny hyung and Jaehyun. They’ve been – “ Ten was cut off by Taeyong.

“They’ve been together since Johnny’s freshman year in high school. Since before the incident happened.” Taeyong interrupts. A second round of chaos erupts in the room and this time it takes a while for everyone to calm down.

“Come on, don’t tell me you never noticed it before?” Ten says once the room was quiet.

“I had my hunches.” Kun replies.

“I just thought they were just really, really close.” Taeil counters. "Taeyong - ah, you told me Johnny hasn't mentioned anything about a lover before! Then how the hell did you know that that they've been together since then?"

"Ah, about that." Taeyong starts. "Johnny had asked me and Ten to keep quiet about it all these times. I'm sorry for lying, hyung. But Johnny has already given us the go signal to inform everyone if deemed necessary."

"Can't believe you lied to me!"

"Hyung, that was Johnny's wish, not mine." Taeyong explains. Taeil just rolls his eyes. 

“But where’s Johnny hyung now?” Sicheng looks at Taeyong expectantly.

“He’s having some time alone. We’ll let him be.” Taeyong explains.

“And Jaehyun? Where is he?” Doyoung asks.

“The last that we know is that he’s on the run. I think he knows that we’ve caught on to him. The enemies could still have him on a leash that’s why he’s running.”

“But where to?”

“I don’t know yet. But Jungwoo and Jaemin are looking for him. We can’t let him out of our sight until he gives us an explanation.”

“What if he doesn’t come back?” Taeil suddenly speaks up.

“Then we hunt him down and make him suffer the consequences.”

“And how are we going to do that?” Mark replies. “We’re not going to kill him, are we?”

“Are you crazy? Why would we kill Jaehyun?!” Doyoung yells.

“We’re not going to do that. We’ll just have to put him in jail long enough to make him realize that what he did was wrong.” Taeyong replies.

“Okay, given that. How are we going to catch him?” Kun look to Taeyong.

“Why not instead of catching him, we let him come to us?” Yuta suggests.

“Go on…” Taeyong urges for Yuta to continue.

“This is gonna sound cruel but let’s capture his parents and use them as bait. If he doesn’t come running back to Seoul crying within a given time, we’ll eliminate his parents.”

“The fuck, Yuta hyung? Are you forgetting that Jaehyun’s your friend? That you both grew up together?” Ten scolds.

“I mean, that’s one way to make sure that he comes back, right?”

“That’s a nice plan minus the killing. We can get his parents on board to this. We’ll tell them what Jaehyun did and let his parents do the talking.”

“And given the fact that Jaehyun hasn’t seen his parents in so long, he’d do anything to make sure they’re okay.” Ten adds.

“Then let’s do that.” Taeyong concludes. “If Jungwoo and Jaemin don’t catch him today, I’ll meet with his parents tomorrow. Kun, can you make sure Jaehyun doesn’t leave the country?”

“It’s hard, hyung. You know we all have fake passports. I can’t just block all of them at once. That’s gonna look suspicious on the immigration’s system. There’s a possibility that we could get found that we’re tapping into their system.” Kun explains.

“So, we’re just going to let him disappear?” Sicheng speaks up.

“Let’s not think about him leaving the country. Maybe he’s just scared. Let’s have a little faith in Jaehyun.” Ten consoles.

“Let’s just hope that Jungwoo and Jaemin catch him before it’s too late. I need to give that brat a piece of my mind.” Taeil sternly says.

“Okay, now that we’ve got Jaehyun’s ass covered, what about those seven bastards who are probably still out there? How are we going to get to them?” Ten speaks up.

“We’ll get to them through Jaehyun. We’ll let them think that we still haven’t caught on to their plan and use Jaehyun as a middle man.” Taeil replies.

“Okay, but how? For all we know it was them who told Jaehyun to run.”

“Then we’ll force the info out of Jaehyun!”

“That is, if we catch him.” Ten says begrudgingly.

“We can use Jaehyun as bait if all else fails.” Taeyong starts. “Besides, if Jaehyun can make a mess of his whereabouts, and if the places are related to those gunmen, then we can use that info and piece together at least a semblance of their real location. Is that doable, Kun?”

“I can try? I mean, aside from that burner email where they sent their reply, we have no whereabouts about them before that, even more to the real ones if the ones we killed were actually fakes.”

“This is hopeless. This is a wild goose chase gone wrong!” Mark exclaims.

“Now, now. Let’s think about this positively. We waited ten years to finally take some action into finding those bastards who ruined our lives, I’m sure we can wait a little bit longer, right?” Sicheng consoles the younger.

“I just don’t understand how Jaehyun hyung can do this to us!”

“He may have a reason for doing this. I’m sure he didn’t do it on his own free will, right?” Sicheng gives Ten a look.

“I agree. This whole thing seems so fishy. He never acted out of character up until I found out he was the mole a few hours ago.” Ten comments.

“So, he was forced to do this, is that what you’re implying?” Taeil raises an eyebrow.

“Could be? If even Johnny hyung didn’t know a thing, then what else? If Johnny didn’t sense that Jaehyun was doing something wrong, then what else could there be?”

“Which is why we need to let his parents talk to him.” Taeyong speaks up. “If they can’t get through him, then that’s our cue that he’s far too gone for us to save.”

The room becomes silent after.

“Let’s not think about this now.” Doyoung breaks the silence. “Our first priority is Jaehyun. We need to make sure he’s not actually in danger.”

“Doyoung’s right. He was still here during this morning’s meeting and all of a sudden, he just vanished. Knowing Jaehyun, he would’ve at least left a note or something saying that he’s leaving.” Kun adds.

“Then let’s end the meeting here. I know you’re all anxious on what’s really going on, and believe me, I have no idea as well as to how all of this turned out like this.” Taeyong says as he stands up. “I want updates on all ends before midnight tonight. Kun, Sicheng, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Where are you going?” Doyoung catches his arm as he walks by.

“Home. I need to sleep. I don’t think I’ve had good night’s sleep in a while.”

“Okay, we’ll let you know if anything new arises.”

“Thank you. I’ll go ahead then.” Taeyong says as a parting before leaving the room. Once he was out of earshot, Taeil clears his throat and prepares himself to speak.

“Listen up everyone. Let’s make one thing clear, alright? If Jaehyun turns out to be an enemy of this mafia, would you hate me if I told you that we should we treat him the same way we treated Donghyuck?”

“The fuck, hyung? Are you forgetting that Jaehyun is also your friend?” Doyoung spats out.

“Donghyuck was also our friend. But we got rid of him, didn’t we?”

“Donghyuck came to us a soldier. He didn’t suffer through the same thing we did. Donghyuck doesn’t share the same trauma as we did.”

“And that’s enough to warrant him immunity to a punishment?”

“Hyung! Please listen to your words. Yes, I know what Jaehyun did was wrong, we know what Jaehyun did was wrong, but the difference between Donghyuck and him is that we ALL have an emotional attachment to Jaehyun. It’s like asking me to kill my own brother!”

“You think I don’t love him? You think I’m not disappointed in him? Of course, I am! But I want to teach him a lesson that betraying your family comes with consequences!”

“Can we at least hear his side of the story before we jump to conclusions? For all we know he could’ve been forced to do this!”

“Taeil hyung, Doyoung’s right. Let’s at least give Jaehyun the chance to explain himself.” Kun speaks up.

“It’s understandable that you feel this way hyung, but let’s not get carried away by our emotions.” Ten adds.

“But like Taeyong said, if even his parents can’t get through him, then I’m showing him no mercy for selling us out like that. And that’s final.” Taeil emphasizes.

And just like that, the room fell silent again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> of course, kudos and comments are much much much welcome! i'm actually quite amazed that some of you guys managed to guess who the mole was and i was like hmmmmm was i that obvious?
> 
> and also, what do you guys think about the plot twist????? and do you think jaehyun deserves a second chance?


	18. TOUCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your voice that calls my name makes my heart drop.  
> From some point, I started to talk just like you,  
> I can figure it all out, once I hold your hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I'm back with a new chapter! It's so amusing that I'm churning out these chapters so fast I'm still processing how I'm doing it TuT 
> 
> but nonetheless, here it is! 
> 
> for this chapter, there will be flasbacks (well, convos only heh) and they'll be italicized. I feel like it's about time we dig deep to Johnny and Jaehyun's relationship, yeah? 
> 
> Also, I've thought about adding the johnjae tag for the relationship tag but i decided against it since i dont' want new readers to be spoiled so I'll keep it as it is. 
> 
> Right, enough of the delays, on to the story!
> 
> happy reading!

_“Hyung, if I told you that I have feelings for someone, would you hate me?”_

_“What? Why would I hate you? It’s totally normal for you to have crush in your age!”_

_“I know. But what if it’s… uh, not with a girl?”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Right? It’s weird, I know!”_

_“No, no, no! That’s totally okay! No one can choose who they fall for anyway!”_

_“So, you’re not creeped out?”_

_“Why would I be? It’s still you. I’ll always choose you no matter what! Besides, it’s just a crush. You’re not really harming anyone.”_

_“Do you really mean that, hyung?”_

_“Of course! Come on, are you really doubting me right now, Jaehyunnie?”_

_“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just…”_

_“Just what? Come on, spit it out! Have some guts!”_

_“Then, uh, hyung… If I told you I like you would you hate me?”_

_“If I told you I liked you too does that mean we’re going out now?”_

**SEOUL, 11:30 PM KST**

“Ah, I knew you’d be here.” Taeyong exclaims as he spots Johnny sitting by the dining table.

“Sorry If I crashed. I don’t really know where else to go.”

“It’s fine. This is still your home anyway.”

“Did they find him?”

“Not yet. But Jaemin and Jungwoo are still looking for him. I heard Jeno went to help them as well.” Johnny sighs and takes a swig of his drink. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up too much! You didn’t know! None of us did!”

“I just can’t believe that he would do such a thing! I trusted him more than I trusted myself! I’ve put my life on the line for him so many times! And then he turns around and pulls shit like this!”

“Maybe, maybe Jaehyun had a reason for doing this, no? Maybe he’s being blackmailed or something? You never know!”

“I just don’t know what to think anymore, Yong – ah.”

“Hey, look at me.” Taeyong orders as he takes Johnny’s hands in his. “We’re going to get through this together okay? We’re going to bring Jaehyun back and get to the bottom of this!”

“But what if he doesn’t come back anymore? What if he really turned away from us?”

“Jaehyun loves you, doesn’t he? I’m sure he wouldn’t do such a thing to you.”

“I’m not even sure anymore just how much Jaehyun actually loved me.”

“Don’t say stuff like that! We don’t know the full story yet!”

“God, Yong – ah. I want to hate him! I really do! But every time I do, it’s just hurts so fucking much that I can’t bear it! It’s so painful right here!” Johnny points to his chest where his heart is with tears in his eyes. “I can’t even begin to think about tomorrow where I won’t see his face anymore!”

Taeyong tries to soothe Johnny by rubbing his back. “And we’re doing the very best we can to bring him back, yeah? This is all hands on deck.”

“Eleven years. Eleven fucking years and the ending is that Jaehyun betrayed us all! That sounds so fucked up!”

“Sshh, calm down. Calm down.”

We made each so so happy and planned everything and all of a sudden it just fucking shattered right in front of my face!”

“Alright, just let it all out, okay? Cry it all out…” Taeyong mumbles.

“I thought that if no one knew about us then it would work since no one could put their two cents on it. God, I went against my parents’ back for him! I lied to my mom for the very first time when I told her I had a girlfriend instead! That Jaehyun was just my best friend but God, little does my mother know that we were kissing under the blanket like some middle school kids.”

“To my understanding, he was a middle schooler when you started going out, right?”

Johnny laughs a little and wipes the tears running down his cheeks. “Yeah, I was in my freshman year of high school and he was in his second year of middle school. Cringey shit.”

“When did you start liking him?”

“God, I don’t really remember.” Johnny sniffles. “Maybe summer before high school?”

“Wasn’t that when you took him to Chicago with you?”

“Yeah. Ever since then, he’s been coming back home with me every summer. Well, one summer vacation because we stopped having summer vacations after…”

“Right… I mean, I’m just surprised no one suspected a thing especially when we used to live together back in Silim – dong.”

“It’s pretty funny. We had to make sure everyone was asleep before we snuck out and made out outside!”

“Until Ten and I caught you guys one time.” Taeyong deadpans.

“I mean, we were kids, right? Dumb and reckless.” Johnny laughs a little.

“Yeah, we were pretty reckless back then, weren’t we? Who in their right mind would try to sneak out of a guarded government facility?”

“Hey, we made it out in one piece, didn’t we? That’s an achievement all on its own!”

“We’ve done a lot of things together, haven’t we?”

“Stupid things together, yeah.” Johnny exhales and wipes away fresh new tears from his cheeks. “Did you know we were planning on getting married next year?”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Yeah, we were planning on getting married back here in Jeju with everyone. We were going to fly out together with my parents and meet with his parents and tell them everything about us. And then we’ll let Ten run the company for a bit while we go on our honeymoon. But now everything’s ruined.”

“Hey, it’s not too late, you know?”

“When do you know if it’s not too late?”

“Until we’ve talked to Jaehyun, then it’s not too late. Until we hear his side of the story, then it’s not too late.”

“I wish I could be as positive as you are, Yong - ah.”

“We’ve had our lowest and now we’re in our highest and we’re all still together.” Johnny didn’t say anything and Taeyong takes this as his cue to continue talking. “So, what makes you think that Jaehyun betrayed us?”

“You sounded so sure earlier in the meeting with the inner circle, though.”

“I lost my cool there, not gonna lie. But I’ve done my thinking while I was in my office back in HQ and on my way back here, and I gave it some thought. Jaehyun would be the last person to do something like this wholeheartedly. Jaehyun cares for us so much. Even for Sungchan. I can see it in the way he treats him, like Sungchan is his little brother. Despite what he does for the mafia, Jaehyunnie is actually all about rainbows and butterflies and not at all what the public makes him out to be.”

“Yeah, the public’s opinion on him can be pretty nasty.”

“Yet despite all that, he never lets it affect him and does his job and gets it done. He does it for us, and most especially he does it for you. Because it makes you happy. And seeing you stressed stresses him out as well.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Johnny says all of a sudden. “You knew Jaehyun was the mole this entire time?”

“No, I didn’t know. I only found out when that Seokjin guy said that you knew the mole personally. Jaehyun’s a pretty good actor, you know?”

“Oh, definitely. Especially when – “

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Mr. Seo. Please don’t ruin Jaehyun’s image for me. In my head he’s still fifteen.”

“Fifteen? No wonder Jisung got mad at you!”

“Hey! I’m trying to age everyone up in my head, okay?” Taeyong defends himself. “Look, all I’m saying is that there’s probably a very good and a very valid reason why Jaehyun betrayed us. Let’s not jump to conclusions. Like what Doyoung said, we need to make sure first that he’s not actually in danger.”

“I know.”

“So, stop sulking and help us find him. You know him more than any of us do. You can help by telling us places where he’ll most likely go.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

“And stop drinking. You’re going to drink yourself into a stupor!”

“Alcohol is my best friend.”

“Fine. Just don’t puke on the carpet unless you want to get yelled at by Doyoung.”

“That sounds fun. Doyoung hasn’t yelled at me in years!”

“I can’t believe you just said that! Switch places with me! I’m taking Jisung with me!”

“Oh, you wouldn’t last a day with Ten and Yangyang bantering all day.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just join them.”

“You sure about that? Even Jaehyun gave up joining in on them after a couple years.”

Both Johnny and Taeyong laugh at what Johnny just said and takes a while to calm down. _Well, at least he stopped crying,_ Taeyong thought.

“Did you ever thought about living together, just the two of you?” Taeyong says after calming down.

“We did, but Jaehyun said it’ll be too lonely without Ten and Yangyang and I kind of agree with him. A home is not a home without the people in it.”

“Agreed. And memories.” Taeyong adds.

“And memories.” Johnny repeats as he looks around them. Everything had pretty much stayed the same; the couch, the giant TV, the wine stained coffee table, even the picture frames.

“Hey, you’re good now? You can crash here if you want. You can sleep on my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“What? Why? We used to share a bed together.”

“If you end up puking on me, I’m demoting you to a lower-class soldier right that instant.”

“Touché. Okay. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Then take as much time off as you need, okay? We’ll find Jaehyun.”

“Thanks, Yong – ah.”

“Hey, anytime, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Taeyong stand up and pats Johnny once on the shoulder. “Goodnight, then!”

“Night, Yong – ah.”

_“Hyung, do you think your mom will notice?”_

_“That we’re together? Nah, I doubt it.”_

_“But she’s your mom; isn’t she supposed to be sensitive to these kinds of things?”_

_“Well, I mean I’m not sure? I hope she doesn’t. I don’t wanna get yelled at.”_

_“Will your dad know?”_

_“I’d rather die than have my dad find out. Besides, if he does find out, there’s a possibility that he’ll kick you out! How the hell are you going back to Busan, then?”_

_“Hm, so, no one can find out, can’t they?”_

_“For now, yeah. Hope you don’t mind? For your own security, at least.”_

_“It’s cool. I don’t really care if only the two of us know, anyway. Kinda like it that way.”_

_“Cool.”_

_“Cool, yeah.”_

Just as Taeyong was about to tuck himself inside the blanket, he receives a call from Kun;

“Hyung, I’ve got some bad news.”

“He’s gone, isn’t he?”

“Gone without a trace! We’ve tried everywhere, even outside of Seoul! There’s also a possibility that he left the country through a back door. If that’s the case, then it’s going to take us months to find him.”

“Alright. But don’t tell Johnny just yet. I just got him to stop crying!”

“Okay, I’ll tell the others to keep quiet about it. Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Just drunk. And probably heartbroken.”

“I can’t imagine what he must be going through right now.”

“Me neither. But he’ll pull through. I know Johnny, he’s a fighter.”

When Taeyong walks into HQ the next day, with no new updates on Jaehyun’s whereabouts, the family had no other choice but to resort into calling Jaehyun’s parents in hopes of getting through him.

_If this fails, God, Jaehyun, how the fuck am I supposed to save you now?_

“Alright, given that his parents agree on this whole circus show, how are we gonna reach Jaehyun?” Taeil’s voice was loud and sharp even though it was only past ten am.

“Well, since all his lines are cut off and all his social media accounts are deactivated, we can only hope that his emails are all still active.” Kun informs.

“And if that fails?”

“I’ll post it on my SNS account publicly if all else fails.” Mark interjects.

“Care to explain?” Taeil quirks an eyebrow.

“For starters, I have a pretty big following online. There’s a chance that the real gunmen that we’re looking for are aware of it. They’ll think its dumb and show it to Jaehyun hyung. He’ll bargains to do more shit for them in exchange that they’ll allow him to go back to Seoul. Once he’s back here, we’ll make it look like that we eliminated him to keep him safe. The only bad side there is that Jaehyun hyung might not come back to Chicago for a while. Well, at least until we got rid of them completely.”

“That sounded so simple and yet it might actually work.” Yuta rebuts.

“That’s what we said last time, and look where that got us!” Taeil snaps.

“Hyung’s right. We have to micro analyze this like fifty times to make sure it’s foolproof.”Kun adds.

“Where’s the rest of the family?” Taeyong suddenly questions the rom.

“Some place else? I don’t know?” Yuta looks to Taeyong.

“Why aren’t they included in this meeting? This involves them, too!”

“Who’s to say that Jaehyun is the only mole in this family?” Taeil bites.

“And who’s to say that the other mole isn’t in this room with us?” Taeyong retorts.

Taeil was taken aback by Taeyong’s sharp reply but couldn’t help but ponder about it. Everyone’s a suspect now, it could either be him or the person next to him. There’s no saying who.

“Alright, you win.” Taeil concedes. “I’ll make sure to drag everyone next time.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

“Are you both done arguing now? Can we focus on the task at hand?” Mark looks to the older two.

“Carry on.” Taeyong motions his hand for the rest to continue.

“Again, there’s no guarantee if Jaehyun will even see this at all, but it’s worth a shot. Trying to find him now is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There’s so many factors that could hinder our search for him.” Kun informs.

“Which is why we gotta make sure that the content is heart shattering enough that it gets his attention and pull at his heart strings.”

“Let’s have his parents write a letter. Post it on Mark’s account. But let’s make them use an alias to protect Jaehyun’s identity.” Taeil commands.

“Alright, let’s try that. Wait, what about Johnny? Doesn’t he have a say in this?” Kun looks confused.

“Let’s not disturb Johnny now. He’s going through a lot at the moment. Besides, he doesn’t even know that Jaehyun’s gone _gone_.” Taeyong informs the group.

“Look at those kids. If only they were honest with each other! Which is why love is nothing but waste of time!” Taeil exclaims.

“Yah, hyung! Don’t go spilling your bitterness onto other people!” Yuta scolds the older.

“At least I don’t go around sleeping with different person every night!”

“At least I don’t stay at home and let myself be completely devoured by my work!”

“Can you both stop it? You’re both being very immature and not helping right now!” Mark teases.

“Ah, look who’s talking! The guy who doesn’t even want a newbie in their team!”

“Hyung!” Kun suddenly speaks up. “That’s not nice!”

“Hyung, Yuta, can you both just shut the fuck up, please? You’re both not helping!” Taeyong yells. “And can we not bring that topic up right now? That’s completely irrelevant to our mission!”

“Fine.” Taeil huffs. “Carry on.”

“LIKE I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, shouldn’t we ask for Johnny hyung’s opinion on this?” Kun raises an eyebrow.

“It’s best that he doesn’t know. He’ll just end up blaming himself more knowing that we’re getting Jaehyun’s parents on board with this.” Taeyong explains.

“I agree with Taeyong hyung. Johnny hyung may end up being destructive if he finds out.” Mark adds.

“Okay, keep Johnny in the dark at all times. Good plan.” Yuta comments.

“Well, got any other ideas where Johnny won’t end up blaming himself more?” Taeil teases.

“I’m completely empty.” Yuta deadpans.

“Then, let’s do that. I’ll go to his parents right now and talk to them.” Taeyong concludes.

“Do you want any of us to come with you?” Kun looks at Taeyong.

“I’ll take Sicheng with me. That should do the trick.”

So, when Taeyong and Sicheng were finally on their way to Jaehyun’s parents’ house in Busan, Sicheng couldn’t help but wonder why Taeyong brought him along at all.

“Am I really necessary for this?” Sicheng pouts.

“Jaehyun’s parents know you and are familiar with you. Aside from Johnny, you’re the only person that they know pre – incident.” Taeyong explains.

“Alright, fine. Do I have to say anything?”

“Just don’t blame Jaehyun for anything. We don’t want them to feel bad.”

“But hyung, does his parents even know what Jaehyun does?”

“Yeah, he’s the Chief Marketing Officer of NCT, Co. What else is there?”

“Oh, nothing. I thought they know what he does in the mafia.”

“Are you crazy? Why would we tell his parents, or any of our families for that matter what we do in the mafia?! Especially with Jaehyun’s line of work?!”

“Yeah, my bad. Okay, duly noted. I’ll just keep my mouth shut and let you do all the talking.” He smiles.

“How are you the VP again?” Taeyong jokes.

“Hey, beats me. You appointed me that role and I kinda just went with it. Although I do hate the paperwork that it comes with.”

“You haven’t seen my office, then.”

“But your office is so clean!”

“That’s because I have a separate room that’s five branches worth of paper works that I need to look through and sign by like… next week I think?”

“RIP in pieces, Taeyong hyung.”

“I wish I can pay people to sign stuff for me. Then again, who knows what they’d do.”

“It’s so hard to trust people nowadays. Especially now that we know that even the person we thought we’re friends with, ended up betraying us.”

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly. But really, how are you holding up?”

“Me? All of a sudden?”

“Jaehyun’s your best friend, right? Not only did he betray us, but he kept his relationship with Johnny from you.”

“Ah, that.” Sicheng sighs. “Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed with that. It made me rethink just how much I actually know about Jaehyun.”

“I’m sorry, Sicheng – ah. Me and Ten knew but we didn’t tell anyone.”

“It’s okay, hyung. I mean, it’s not your place to tell anyway.”

“Right, yeah.”

“But I’m fine. I mean, I’m kinda hurt, but it’s nothing. Donghyuck did the same thing to me last time. But when I found out that he died, I felt nothing.”

“Well, we can’t really say that Donghyuck and Jaehyun weigh the same, right?”

“Obviously.” Sicheng laughs a little. “But I feel like I can say that I’m used to people backstabbing me all the time.”

“Hey! Don’t say that! You can’t generalize everyone when there’s only two people who had done it. Besides, we don’t even know what Jaehyun’s motives are for doing such a thing!”

“I guess you’re right, hyung. But what’s funny is that we’re trying so hard to prove Jaehyun’s innocence compared to when we found out that Donghyuck betrayed us and everyone just wanted him dead.”

“Well, like I said, we can’t really say that Donghyuck and Jaehyun weigh the same.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“If ever we find out the truth and that Jaehyun isn’t actually a bad guy, would you treat him differently?”

“No? Why would I? Although I would give him a smack in the head for keeping his relationship with Johnny hyung from me though. I remember him telling me that he had a huge crush on him back then and I was so fervently rooting for them both up until today! Who knew that they actually got together without me knowing!”

“Well, that’s understandable, though.”

“But I wouldn’t treat him differently. I’ll just think of it as an undercover mission and then when it’s mission accomplished; he’ll go back to his smiley self that has a wall tolerance that’s built underground.”

“Yeah, I hope he does.”

_“Jaehyun – ah, when we’re older, will you marry me?”_

_“Hyung, I’m like seventeen. Can you ask me again in a couple years?”_

_“That’s why I said ‘when we’re older!’”_

_“Well, I don’t really see myself with anybody else anyway. So, I guess that’s a yes?”_

_“Do you mean that?”_

_“Are you really doubting my sincerity right now?”_

_“No, of course not. It’s just that it’s so easy to say something but hard to put into action, you know?”_

_“I know that much, hyung. Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise to you.”_

_“So that’s a promise?”_

_“Does it not sound like one?”_

_“Stop making fun of me! Fine, that’s a promise! When we’re in a much better place, let’s get married!”_

_“Great! I’ll have Sicheng as my best man. Who’s yours?”_

_“Hm, Mark, maybe? Or Ten?”_

_“Why not Taeyong hyung?”_

_“Ah, if I pick him, then Yuta would get jealous. And if I pick Yuta, then Taeil hyung would get jealous, too. So, it’s either Mark or Ten for me. How ‘bout you? Why is it Sicheng?”_

_“Easy! I’ve known him since I was ten. He’s the longest friend I’ve ever had. He’s my best friend, too. Well, aside from you, of course. It only makes sense that I pick Sicheng as my best man.”_

_“Wow, didn’t you just said to ask you again in a couple years? How come you’ve already decided for Sicheng to be your best man?”_

_“We’ve talked about it before, duh. We both decided that we’d be each other’s best man in our wedding.”_

_“That’s… so cute! You guys are so cute!”_

_“Right? But I’m cuter, right?”_

_“Of course, you are! Why are you still asking me this question?”_

Some four hours later, Taeyong and Sicheng have finally arrived at Jaehyun’s parent’s house in Busan.

“Will we kidnap his parents if they won’t cooperate?” Sicheng asks before knocking on the front door.

“You need to stop hanging out with Taeil hyung. Obviously, we’d go back to the drawing board if they don’t cooperate!”

“Right, right. Of course, I knew that!”

Once Sicheng knocks on the door, they soon hear shuffling inside before the door was open and revealed Jaehyun’ mom.

“Auntie! Hi!”

“Oh my, Taeyong – ah!” Mrs. Jeong engulfed Taeyong into a tight hug before moving to Sicheng. “And my little _Winwin_ , too! What brings you both here? Are you with Jaehyunnie?”

“Ah, that. Actually, Auntie, we’re here to discuss some things with you.” Taeyong says, going straight to the point. “May we come in?”

Mrs. Jeong pulled a straight face and motioned for Taeyong and Sicheng to follow her into the living room. “Did Jaehyun get into trouble?” She speaks as she sits down on the couch.

“Well,” Taeyong starts. “He thinks that bad people are after him that’s why he went into hiding. But the threat is gone and we want him to come back. We’ve tried everything, but he just wouldn’t listen.”

“But how could bad people be after him? Doesn’t he do marketing? Why would his life be in danger because of that?”

“We don’t really know, Auntie. But don’t worry, like hyung said, the threat is gone and it’s okay for him to come back now.” Sicheng explains.

“But what we need from you is to convince him to come back. We think that you’re the only person who can make him come back.” Taeyong adds.

“I see, of course, of course. I’ll do anything just to make sure Jaehyun come back safely! Should we wait for his dad to come home? He just went to the grocery to get some food.” Mrs. Jeong replies.

“Sure, auntie.” Taeyong smiles.

Ten minutes later, they hear keys jiggling and the door locks being unlocked. Soon, Jaehyun’s father appears before them with two paper bags in both his arm.

“Winwinnie? What are you doing here?” Mr. Jeong exclaims as he places the paper bags on the counter. He walks over to Sicheng and gives him a big hug. “It’s been a long time! How are you?”

“I’m fine, uncle. How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good! Ah, it’s so nice to see you! And you must be Taeyong, right??” Mr. Jeong beams as he looks at Taeyong.

“Yes, uncle. He’s one of Jaehyun’s sunbaes. He’s Johnny hyung’s friend.”

“Hello, Mr. Jeong! It’s so nice to meet you!” Taeyong exclaims as he bows.

“Ah, so you are that Taeyong! Jaehyun talks a lot about you! Says you’re a very dear person to him. And also a very successful chairman if I may say so myself!”

“Ah, thank you for your words! But I wouldn’t have done it myself! I had Jaehyun and Sicheng here and the others to help me build our company!”

“You’re a sweet talker, aren’t you?” Mr. Jeong comments.

“Please don’t take it the wrong way!” Taeyong explains.

“Pay him no mind, Taeyong – ah.” Mrs. Jeong consoles. “He’s just like that and he should behave himself as well.” Mrs. Jeong gives Mr. Jeong a warning look.

“What? Can’t I joke around Jaehyun’s friends?” Mr. Jeong teases. “Speak of which, where is he? Why isn’t he with you?”

“Ah, that.” The smile from Taeyong disappears as he prepares himself to explain everything to Jaehyun’s dad. “You might want to sit down for this one, uncle.”

“I have never wanted to punch Jaehyun so bad in my life before than I did earlier when I was watching his parents cry their hearts out for their son.” Sicheng rambles as they climb inside their car. They were now on their way back to Seoul.

“Can you blame them? They haven’t seen their son in years and the first news they get from him is that he disappeared.” Taeyong adds.

“He’s an idiot for sure. I can’t believe he’d let his parents go through that emotional trauma! And don’t reason with me that he was probably forced to do this! He could’ve visited his parents before he left! He could’ve sent them a message saying that he was okay and that he was doing well! But nothing!”

“Unless…” Taeyong trails off.

“Unless what?”

“We didn’t consider the fact that his parents are in on this, did we?”

“The fuck? I thought his parents doesn’t know about the mafia?” Sicheng says a little too loudly.

“Yeah, but desperate times calls for desperate needs. That could be a possibility!”

“So, you’re saying that his parents were crying crocodile tears in there?”

“Like I said, it could be a possibility.”

“Then, truly. Fuck Jaehyun. I can’t believe he’d drag his parents into this!”

By one am, the two had arrived to Seoul and went straight to HQ. There, they met with Kun and proceeded to review the video they filmed.

“Now that you mentioned it, hyung. If we look at it in that angle, it does look fake.” Kun comments once the video was over.

“Well, there’s no turning back now. We’re all out of options on our end. Do we still not have any clue as to where he is?” Taeyong sighs.

“Nothing. I’ve tried facial recognition across all the CCTVs currently active in South Korea including Jeju Island and all its surrounding islands and turned up empty.”

“So, he really fled the country, huh?”

“There’s a high chance that he did. Although I will try to gain access to CCTVs from airports worldwide and see if I can find him.”

“Have the others help you.”

“Yes, hyung. The rest of the Moonwalk squad are in on this, too.” Kun smiles. “Do we upload this now?”

“Let’s try to send it to his emails as well and see if we get a response.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, I’m uploading it now to Mark’s channel. Hopefully he’ll see this.” Kun says. At the same time, he also sent the video to all of Jaehyun’s emails, regardless if they were active or not. It’s now a waiting game on how long will it take for Jaehyun to respond, or if he he’ll even respond at all.

“I hope this works.” Sicheng mutters.

“This better work! We’re all out options!” Kun exclaims.

“If this doesn’t work, then that means Jaehyun really did this out of his own free will.”

“What if he’s being held captive?” Sicheng asks all of a sudden.

“Then there’s a fifty – fifty chance that this move of ours is futile.” Taeyong supplies.

“We did everything we could. It’s all up to him now.” Kun adds.

_“Jaehyun – ah, tell me, do you think we would have kids in the future?”_

_“Hm, I would love to have kids with you, hyung. But not now. Maybe when we’re a bit older?”_

_“Yeah, I didn’t mean now. We’re still so busy. When we’ve settled down.”_

_“Yeah, that sounds nice. Let’s buy a house in Incheon and raise our kids there.”_

_“Incheon? You don’t wanna settle down here in Chicago?”_

_“Well, Chicago is nice, too. But too many people know us here unlike in Incheon. Our reputation here could ruin our kids’ lives, you know?”_

_“Hm, that’s a good point.”_

_“It could endanger them some day and we can’t have that.”_

_“That’s true. Then it’s settled! We’re settling down in Incheon! We’ll force Taeyong to move in next door with us so someone can look after the kids when we’re away!”_

_“Oh man! Taeyong hyung’s gonna love that! He loves kids so much.”_

_“Right? It makes me wonder why he doesn’t have one of his own yet.”_

_“Hyung, Jisung is literally his son.”_

_Oh yeah. Taeyong does treat him like his own…”_

_“Why are you making it sound like it’s a bad thing?”_

_“It’s not! It’s just… well… Taeyong can be a bit overbearing sometimes even when he tries not to so I guess Jisung feels a little suffocated at times. Or am I wrong?”_

_“Ah, that’s normal for Jisung’s age. He’s at that point where he wants to explore on his own and be independent. But I guess Taeyong hyung is still trying to stop him from doing such things. Besides, you and I were like that too at one point.”_

_“I don’t remember stopping you from doing anything, though.”_

_“I didn’t mean you! I meant our parents. Didn’t they try to talk you out from doing some things before? Most especially if it’s outside of their comfort zone.”_

_“Now that I think about it, I do remember my mom telling my dad that it’s not a good idea to send me to a boarding school all the way to Busan for middle school.”_

_“Okay for starters, your mom was right. You could’ve been here in Chicago this entire time and lived a normal life.”_

_“But that would mean that I wouldn’t have met you or the others. No way, I would never trade the life I have now for anything else!”_

_“That’s so corny, hyung.”_

_“Only for you, I guess.”_

_“But really, hyung. Let’s not do that to our kids someday. If they wanna do something, let’s support them all the way, yeah?”_

_“Of course! Let’s be the overly active parents at their kid’s soccer match and beat all the other parents!”_

_“Okay, you do that.”_

_“But for now, I just wanna stay home and sleep all day.”_

_“Who doesn’t? Even Yangyang does that some days.”_

_“So, he is slacking off!”_

_“Come on, let him be! He’s still a teenager, you know? He’s still growing.”_

_“Fine, fine. It’s not like I did all my homework on time anyway.”_

_“That’s because you were busy making out with me.”_

_“Hey!”_

__

_(a/n: my favorite johnjae photo sequence T_T )_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! kudos and comments are much much welcome! 
> 
> also, please expect the next chapter to come out sometime early next month since I will be taking a very very short break from writing after I finish the next part of my toddler jisung series. it's nothing serious, just want some breathing space and some free time hehe. 
> 
> anyway, see you in the next chapter! stay safe, wear a mask!


	19. Save Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I want to breathe, I hate this night  
> I want to wake up, I hate being in a dream  
> Locked in me, I am dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOOO! I'm back after my very short break but that's enough for me (o˘◡˘o) anyway, we're about nearing the end of this fic though I can't say for sure how many more chapters left. 
> 
> BUT ANYWAYS SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED IN NCITY AND I JUST WANT TO SCREAM! first, LOVEHOLIC DROPPED AND I CANNOT MOVE ON FROM IT SFLJGFKKLDFSGDF lipstick might actually be my favorite song from the album 
> 
> Liu Yangyang was only 20 when he walked the runway of NYFW
> 
> also, doyoung's drama hasn't been out for a whole day yet and Yuta is already clowning him with sukka sukka 
> 
> anyways, i was thinking of putting trigger warnings for this chapter since jisung talks about some serious stuff (if you get to the part where taeyong and jisung are talking at the balcony) but i feel like it's not really enough to warrant itself as a trigger warning, so just please proceed with caution when you get to that part. 
> 
> right, lets get on to the story!

**UNKNOWN LOCATION** **, 6:13 PM Local Time**

Project 134340, or more synonymously known as Project Pluto is a terrorist group comprising of seven members all hailing from different parts of South Korea. They were formed for one purpose and one purpose only; to carry out missions for a notorious gang leader named Sejin. Sejin once ruled the underworld before Junmyeon took his crown sometime in 1999. Since then, no one really knew where he was or if he was even alive, that is until Project Pluto made their first public appearance in Daegu back in 2004 through a bank robbery. And for eight years, the group rained terror in all parts of the world… Until 2012. After the group’s massacre in Busan International School, Sejin forced them to hide since this particular mission garnered more attention than necessary and feared that the group would be found out. While in hiding, the group performed smaller, lower – profiles missions and only operated on dependent territories. This gives them the freedom to do whatever, whenever, while under the radar.

“Everyone, you might want to see this.” It was Seokjin. The real one. The person who actually opened fired to a class of first graders ten years ago. He places his phone on the table for everyone to see and soon all the members gathered to see what was going on. He presses play as soon as everyone was seated.

 _“Hello, I don’t know if you’d be able to watch this. But here goes… My wife and I have a son who’s about twenty three now. And it’s an amazing yet funny fact that he’s taller than the both of us.”_ The man laughs as he looks at the woman beside him. “ _Anyway, our son is a very righteous man and he always does things with his heart on his sleeves. He has never expected anyone to return the favor to him. And as much as we love our son very much, and is also loved by everyone around him, it pains me to know that some people have ill intentions against him. Our son, who’s our bundle of joy, was chased away to a faraway land just because he did the right thing.”_

_“Our one and only son, I don’t know when or how, but please come home. Your dad I miss you dearly. It’s okay now. Everything’s settled. Come home when you feel safe, alright? Your friends are still looking for you and we all just want to know if you’re safe.”_

The video ends and he scans everyone’s attention to see if anyone was affected by it. “Can’t believe they really fell for those fakes we sent before.” He says casually as he pockets his phone.

“Well, at the end of the day, they’re just a bunch of kids with a vengeance.” Namjoon shrugs.

“We should have thoroughly checked the school before leaving back then. This is a back job and its fucking headache! Can’t believe we’re cleaning up our mess from ten years ago!” Yoongi argues. “I can’t believe I’m only finding out that the reason Sejin threw us off was because there were survivors!”

“Oh, come on, hyung.” Jimin coos. “Just be patient, yeah? They’ll be here soon and once we get rid of Taeyong, their entire network will crumble, including the remaining members.”

“And what happens when they don’t find us? What if they don’t fall apart? What if that Johnny guy takes over?”

“Hyung, our location is being broadcasted on the internet for weeks now, don’t you think they wouldn’t know by now? Besides, do you really think Johnny’s mentally stable enough to run a mafia let alone a company when his lover is nowhere to be found and thinks that he betrayed them?”

“Hm, you make a good point.”

“So just relax, hyung. Everything will soon fall into place. We’ve managed to make it this far unscathed.”

“We really hit the jackpot with Jisoo – ssi.” Hoseok interjects. “Who knew the few survivors from our job back then were actually scheming against us this entire time? Luckily we managed to take action before they got to us.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we got to know him. We even share the same birthday!” Taehyung cheers. “We should thank him sometime.”

“If he’s still alive by then, yeah.” Seokjin snickers.

“Yah, hyung! Don’t be like that! He actually seems like a nice kid.”

“Come on, who’s to say they haven’t found out about him yet? Maybe not Johnny, but what about the other members? Especially that Sungchan kid. I don’t trust that kid at all.”

“Hey, Jaehyun says that he’s reliable enough so we’ll let him be.” Jimin counters.

“Can we move on to a different topic?” Jungkook complains as he puts down his phone. “Just talking about them is giving me a headache.”

“This is your fault, you know? You should’ve pried open those lockers! If you did, then we wouldn’t have this big of a problem and Bang wouldn’t be on our throats!” Yoongi barks back.

“Alright, sheesh. My bad. Sorry.” Jungkook rolls his eyes in annoyance before picking his phone up again.

“Let him be, hyung.” Jimin laughs. “He’s still got a lot of growing up to do.” He teases.

“I’m twenty nine! I’m growing old as it is!”

Two weeks later in Seoul, the Moonwalkers are working nonstop to find Jaehyun’s location. Kun had made use of all the five branches’ intel and personnel to find him and it scares to him to think that it still won’t be enough. They couldn’t find any traces of him at all. All traces of Jaehyun had stopped the second he left Neo Zone after their meeting that morning. It’s as if he just disappeared as soon as left that place. Kun pleads that all they need is one lead, just a tiny bit of lead, and he’ll do the rest. He made a promise to Johnny, and he wants to keep it. But to be honest, Kun was more worried than angry. But In the weeks that he had been missing, he could sense that little by little, the members’ hope of seeing Jaehyun had started to diminish, including Johnny. Yangyang even says that by the time they find out where Jaehyun is, he could already be in a body bag floating somewhere in the Pacific ocean, or worse; six feet under.

“Still nothing?” Sicheng mumbles as he places down his coffee mug.

“Got nothing on Vancouver’s side of the globe. You?” Kun replies without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Frankfurt turned up empty. Yangyang’s men even expanded to Switzerland and France just to be safe.”

“God, at this rate, we may have to start searching the ocean.”

“Should we borrow some submarine from the army? I know General Choi wouldn’t mind.” Sicheng jokes.

“It would take us years to find him. At that point, he may already be dead.”

“It was joke, ge.”

“Can you not?” Kun explodes. “Your best friend has been missing for two weeks and you still have it in you to joke around?”

“It’s why I’m joking! I’m worried about him!”

“Well, you don’t look like you worry about him at all!”

“Ge, not everyone’s like you who cracks under pressure!”

“You don’t know what I go through! You don’t even share half the responsibilities as I do!”

“Oh, so now we’re basing this on who does more? Is this what it is?”

“You know what – “ Kun cuts himself off. It’s too early in the morning to argue. “Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’m getting coffee.”

“See, this is what you’re good at!” Sicheng calls out as Kun walks to the door. “Walking away!”

This piques Kun’s attention and turns around. “I walk away to prevent fighting so I don’t say something stupid! But if you want it that way, then so be it! Finish the search on your own! I’m going home!”

“Fine!” Sicheng yells.

“Fine!” Kun calls back.

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“Will you two grow up please? Some of us just wants to sleep in peace!” Hendery breaks the fight.

“I’m not the one who started it!” Kun and Sicheng say at the same time.

“My lovely ges, please just grow up or take your fight outside.”

“I’m leaving!” Kun exclaims.

“I’m staying!”

“Good, good.” Hendery agrees as he falls back asleep.

“He started it; you know?” Sicheng defends.

“Whatever keeps your peace, ge.” Hendery murmurs.

Back at their apartment, Taeyong decides it was high time that he settles the score with the Fireflies squad – by drinking. He had insisted that Taeil and Johnny join (or whatever’s left of Johnny) since they insinuated that Shotaro and Sungchan join them in the first place. They were on their third bottle of scotch that night when Taeil decides that he’s had enough of beating around the bush.

“Before the night gets any deeper…”

“Hyung, it’s like three am.” Jisung interrupts.

“As I was saying,” Taeil clears his throat again. “I admit that it was wrong of us to force you guys into doing something that you don’t like even though you guys have expressed multiple times. That’s a dick move on our part. I’m sorry.”

“Luckily, Sicheng made us remember that we are brothers first before we are a mafia.” Taeyong adds.

“And if adding Sungchan and Shotaro into your squad will compromise how you guys work, then who are we to disrupt that?” Johnny slurs.

“We never should’ve forced our decision on you guys when it should’ve been yours all along!” Taeyong explains.

“Actually,” Mark clears his throat before glancing at his squad. “We have been talking about it now, you know, when we have some free time, usually before we sleep.” He rambles. “We’re actually not against adding those two into the squad.” He says firmly before smiling widely.

“Did I hear that right? Did I just get drunk for nothing?” Taeil blurts out.

“No, hyung. You did the right thing!” Haechan cheers.

“We gave it some thought, and it was mostly Jeno here who gave the push about it actually.” Mark laughs as Jeno gives him his infamous eye smile. “But we think it’s alright. Shotaro proved to be helpful in getting rid of Donghyuck and Sungchan has been a great source of intel on where Jaehyun hyung could be. I think they’re both beneficial to our squad and I can’t wait to see what else they’ve got under their sleeves.”

“Oh, wow, Mark – ah. I didn’t expect that…” Taeyong manages. “I’m – I – I’m speechless.”

“Look at you, being all grown up!” Johnny comments as he pats Mark on the shoulder.

“But, not now.” Renjun interjects. “We want to get to know them first and see what they’re like. You know, since – “

“I agree.” Johnny interrupt. “We can’t trust anyone with a smile these days.”

“Johnny’s right.” Taeil adds. “We should be stricter with our screenings from now on. We gotta dig deeper if we’re gonna trust them.”

“Hm, I guess we should. More thorough background checks and a face to face interview before becoming a recruit. I’ll mention this on our next meeting with the capos.”

And just like on cue, they hear the door being unlocked and in comes a grumpy Kun.

“Wanna join us?” Johnny calls over.

“Ah, no thanks hyung. Just wanna sleep is all.” Kun dismisses politely.

“Still nothing?”

“Nothing on Vancouver or Frankfurt.”

“That’s okay, Kun – ah. Don’t beat yourself over it. We’ll find him when we find him.”

“Yah, hyung!” Chenle scolds.

“What?” Johnny looks over to the younger.

“Why do you sound like you just gave up on finding Jaehyun hyung?” Kun walks over to the dining area and sits beside Renjun.

“Hyung, we’ll find him, yeah? Don’t lose hope.”

“That’s easier said than done.” Johnny mentions dejectedly.

“No, it’s not.” Now it was Taeyong scolding him. “You spent eleven years of your life with him and now you’re giving up just because they made it look like he betrayed us?”

“Now you’re sounding like Jaehyun was innocent all along!” Taeil counters.

“Was he not? How sure are we that he wasn’t force do to that? That he’s not being blackmailed?”

“And who’s to say he didn’t do that out of his own selfish deed?”

“Hyung, did you even know Jaehyun at all?” Taeyong bites back.

“Jaehyun had always been a troublemaker!” Taeil argues back.

“He had been nothing but helpful to us all these past ten years! Who helped the Dreamies with their homework? Who took care of the Dreamies when Kun moved out? Who helped YOU with your projects so you can graduate from university? Wasn’t all that Jaehyun?”

“Hey, hey. Come on, it’s too late for us to be fighting like this, yeah? We’re all a little drunk anyways.” Mark tries to stop the fight.

“Markie hyung’s right. Let’s call it a night.” Haechan follows. Taeil and Taeyong finally back down from their staring contest and mutter an apology before standing up and leaving the apartment. The rest of the Fireflies squad plus Kun all disperse to their rooms leaving Taeyong and Jisung to clean everything up.

“It’s okay, hyung. I can clean up here. You can go back and rest. I got it covered.” Jisung mentions once they cleared the dining table.

“Ah, that’s fine. I’m not sleepy yet anyway.” Taeyong counters then proceeds to start doing the dishes. The two work silently and when Taeyong deems the kitchen and dining area spotless, he invites Jisung over to the balcony for some fresh air. Jisung knows better.

“Why do I have the feeling that I’m about to get lectured?” Jisung jokes once they were both seated at a sunbed.

“Come on, it’s not that!” Taeyong defends himself. “It’s just that we barely had time to talk since the others came back.”

“We’re just so busy these days that it’s so easy to lose track of time. Can you believe it’s been two months already? And it’s been two weeks since Jaehyun hyung disappeared.”

“Can I ask you a question, Jisung – ah?”

“Sure?” Jisung was unsure of how the question will go.

“Are you confident that we’ll find Jaehyun? I mean, even Johnny sounds like he’d given up already.”

“There’s a lot of layers to your question, hyung.” Jisung starts. “It’s like you’re implying that it’s okay to give up given that Johnny hyung had already given up. It also sounds like you’re not sure we’ll find him at all, too.”

“Yes and yes.” Taeyong replies bluntly. This takes Jisung by surprise and couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Who are you and what have you done to Taeyong hyung? The real Taeyong hyung would never say anything like that!”

“I’m just being practical, is all. Everytime Kun comes home and tells me that there’s no news, I just feel like we’re wasting resources on finding someone who doesn’t want to be found. I mean, I feel bad for Kun too. He stares at the computer for days at a time looking for something that might not even exist at all anymore.”

“Are you saying hyung’s dead?”

“Kun has made implications about it. No matter how under the radar you are, you’re bound to leak a few pieces here and there.”

“I think you’re both forgetting that Jaehyun hyung is a mafia member. He’s an expert in these things.”

“I think you’re also forgetting that Jaehyun is the most recognizable face in the underworld. Who doesn’t know of Eros of Chicago?”

“Hyung, I know you’re being logical about this, but please don’t paint Jaehyun hyung as some sort of villain that betrayed us all. I can’t handle that.”

“Then you’ve got some growing up to do, Jisung – ah.”

“I’ve done my growing up, hyung. It’s why I was able to accept you for who you are, remember?” Jisung laughs at a little and stares out to the skyline before him. “I did my growing up at ten years old when I had to live in a container for two months because I was running away from the government. I did my growing up at eleven when I had to witness my boss shoot two guys at point blank because he lost at mahjong. And,” Jisung pauses and smiles at Taeyong. “I did my growing up at twenty because my father figure couldn’t accept that fact that I was all grown up so I rebelled against him and hurt him.”

“Don’t make it sound like it was that simple.”

“That’s the gist of it, though. You just couldn’t handle the truth.”

“I think that’s what’s wrong with me.”

“What?”

“I can never handle the truth.”

“The truth hurts. But it’s better than being fed a lie.”

“Well, you’re right about that.”

“I think you’re just scared of the truth, hyung. But once you face it, you realize it’s not that scary at all.”

“Look at you using big words and sounding smart!” Taeyong jokes as he ruffles Jisung’s hair.

“I’m not, hyung. That’s just what my therapist told me!”

“How are you, by the way? Must be hard going to therapy while all of this is happening.”

“I’m actually doing pretty good. Chenle comes with me all the time so I don’t feel so alone. It’s actually a miracle my therapist let’s Chenle inside during treatment. I think they feel that Chenle is a good source of positive energy for me so they let him.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, Jisung – ah.”

“And it’s great because I don’t get urges and I don’t think about it all anymore. Although I do get triggered from time to time, but it’s nothing unmanageable. Ten hyung’s been a big help since he arrived.”

“I’m glad you’re holding out so well…. Unlike me.” Taeyong whispers the last part of his sentence.

“You’ll be okay too, hyung. We’ll all be okay soon.”

“Wait you actually heard that?”

“Mafia members, hyung. Mafia members.” Jisung jokes.

“Fine, fine. Then can I ask you another question?”

“Sure, hyung.”

“Do you miss your parents?”

“Hm, not really. I video call them from time to time, telling them that I’m busy with university and that’s why I can’t call them often. Which is like, partly true? I mean I have like five assignments due by Friday.”

“That many?”

“Mmhmm. I’m asking Kun hyung to teach me some of them.”

“And you’re managing them okay?”

“I’m doing good, yeah. We’re pretty much not doing anything at the moment so I can focus on my classes.”

“That’ nice to hear. And your parents?”

“They’re doing okay. They’re still skeptical about the money I send them every month though. They said a shareholder shouldn’t be able to procure that much money.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“I told them that dividend rates are much higher here in Seoul than they are in Busan. Don’t know if it’s real though.” Jisung shrugs.

“And they bought it?”

“Yeah. Although now dad wants to move here in Seoul! I told them you can’t! That life is here so much harder than in Busan. Besides, I told them that you and Doyoung hyung take care of me so there’s no need to worry about me. Which is you know, also true.”

“Yeah.” Taeyong smiles.

“Are you two just going to talk all night?” Doyoung’s voice interrupted the two and Taeyong almost had a heart attack.

“What the hell? Why didn’t I hear you come in?”

“The front door was unlocked and the glass door is open. If we ever get robbed, I’m blaming you both.” Doyoung explains.

“Who would even rob us?” Taeyong counters.

“That’s beside the point!” Doyoung argues back as he takes a seat next to Jisung. “You, why are you still awake at this hour?”

“We were just talking. No need to scold him.”

“Couldn’t it wait ‘till morning?”

“Taeil hyung and Johnny hyung were here. They just finished.” Jisung supplies.

“Ah. Was this about your squad?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, I see. By the way, your therapist called earlier. He said he’s rescheduling to next week Tuesday.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll tell Chenle then.”

“I already told Kun about it.”

“Oh, thanks hyung.”

“Wait, how do you know his therapy schedule and I don’t?”

“That’s because I was the one who booked his therapy in the first place?”

“And you didn’t tell me the schedules?”

“Would you even remember it though? You have like fifty things on your mind all the time.”

“Still! This is about Jisungie! I should know it too!”

“Uh, you guys. It’s okay.” Jisung tries to deescalate the two. “You don’t have to fight over it.”

“Fine, then! Why don’t you dop them off to the clinic next week!”

“You drive him to the clinic?”

“Are you seriously this offended just because I tried to take a load off of you?”

“You can take any load off of me but not when it concerns any one of us! Especially when it concerns Jisung!”

“Fine! Note taken!” Doyoung stands up and prepares to leave. “And while you’re at it, don’t forget his doctor’s appointment on Saturday for his toxicology test.” He says as parting before slamming the glass door shut.

“You’re doing a what?” Taeyong looks at Jisung in disbelief.

“A tox screen. I have to do it so the doctor can check if I still have substances of heroin in me.”

“That’s… necessary?”

“Yeah, hyung. It was my therapist who recommended I do one so Doyoung hyung made an appointment.”

“Wow.” Taeyong exclaims as he looks down.

“Listen, hyung. It’s okay.” Jisung reaches out to place a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder. “I was the one who told Doyoung hyung not to tell you because I know you were busy.”

“But still! You could’ve informed me about this! I had the right to know, too!”

“I’m sorry, hyung. We didn’t mean to offend you like that. I thought I was being considerate by not telling you. I’m sorry.”

“Please just tell me about it next time. I feel so out of loop about all of this.” Taeyong pouts. “Just five minutes ago you were mentioning that I was your father figure yet I didn’t know that you were going all through this!”

“Well, I don’t even tell my dad everything so… I guess that’s okay?”

“You’re not getting the point here. What if something happens to you and I didn’t know about it? How would you think I would feel? Just now I found out that you were doing a tox screen because Doyoung got mad at me.”

“Hyung, really. Don’t worry about it, please? You can drop us off next week if you’d like and if you and Doyoung hyung are on speaking terms by then, you can both drive us there. I can even introduce you to my therapist.”

“That’d be great, Jisungie. I can come on your test on Saturday too if you want.”

“Sure thing, hyung.” Jisung smiles. Taeyong reaches out and engulfs Jisung in a bear hug. A really tight one.

“I’m sorry if you feel like you don’t have to tell me anything because I’m busy. I just want you to know that I’d have all the time in the world when it comes to you.” Taeyong lets out without pause.

“Hyung,” Jisung laughs a bit. “I think you’re a little drunk. I know you normally tell me stuff like these but the way you’re wording it right now is kinda funny.”

“I’m not drunk.” Taeyong pouts again.

“Yeah, you’re drunk. Come on, let’s get you to bed. Come on now.” Jisung stands up and pulls Taeyong along before entering back into the living room and up to Taeyong’s room. Once Taeyong was sat in his bed, Jisung lets go and pushes the older to lay down and tuck him under the blanket.

“Tomorrow when you wake up, talk to Doyoung hyung, alright? I can’t have you both fighting when there are other members in here.”

“Yes, son.”

“Night, hyung.” Jisung bids as he walks to the door.

“Night, son.”

The next morning, or noon, considering it was almost half past eleven when Taeyong woke up, he immediately smells the food wafting through his room and hurriedly rubs the sleep off of his eyes before waltzing to the bathroom to make himself more presentable. Once he deems himself okay, he walks to the kitchen to see Kun and Doyoung cooking lunch for everybody.

“Good morning, how are you all okay and I’m not.” Taeyong exclaims as he sits by the dining table.

“That’s ‘cause you’re a light drinker, hyung.” Doyoung retorts.

“Am I really? Or was the drink last night really strong?”

“Both.” Kun teases. “But I made you some chicken soup to help with your hangover.” Kun mentions as he places a bowl of hot chicken soup in front of him.

“Thank you, Kun – ge. You’re my life and savior!” Taeyong exclaims as he takes a spoonful. “Oh, my god this hits the spot!”

“Hey, anytime!” Kun grins as he continues to stir the pot.

“Did you sleep okay last night?” Doyoung takes a seat beside him and proceeds to chop some onions.

“I slept okay.” Taeyong says cautiously. “Look, about last night – “

“It’s fine, hyung. Jisung told me you were drunk last night. I overreacted too. Don’t worry about it.” Doyoung explains without looking up.

“I really – “

“I was wrong for agreeing with Jisung in not telling you. That’s on me.”

“But – “

“You had every right to be angry at me for not telling you when we both agreed to raise Jisung together. He’s your responsibility just as much as he is mine.”

“Ah, I’m so jealous. Wish I had someone to help me raise Chenle.” Kun whines as he covers the pot. “But no, all I have is Sicheng who can’t even cook an egg without burning it.” Kun teases. “But in his defense, he’s very well versed in the mental health department so I guess that’s okay.”

“Well, no parent is perfect, you know?” Taeyong finally speaks without interruption. “Just like Yuta who goes overboard in babying Jeno and Jaemin without realizing that Jaemin actually hates it and has even started to resent him for it.”

“Wait, what?” Doyoung shrieks.

“Oh, hasn’t Yuta mentioned anything about it?”

“No? What the hell, hyung! That’s terrible! He should go talk to them about it!”

“Talking will probably do more damage than fix it.” Kun interjects as he finally turns off the stove and sits with Kun and Doyoung.

“Kun’s right. There’s a perfect timing for everything. If Yuta does it now, with all of this going on, who knows what Jaemin’s reaction will be.” Taeyong explains.

“Right. Of course.” Doyoung goes back to chopping his onions.

“Oh, by the way. I want you both to look at this sound clip I received earlier this morning.”

“Who’s it from?” Doyoung looks up at Kun.

“It’s from an unknown number. I tried looking up the country code but it doesn’t turn up any country.”

“Really? What is it? Let me hear it.” Taeyong instructs. Kun pulls out his phone and hands it over to Taeyong before hitting play. The sound clip plays and Taeyong automatically understands that its morse code.

[jaejaemochi](https://soundcloud.com/user-538989874) · [???](https://soundcloud.com/user-538989874/morse)

“What am I listening to exactly?” Taeyong asks dumbfoundedly. Doyoung listens in as well.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know what it means. It’s obviously not a word.”

“Obviously it’s not a word, Kun. It’s morse code.” Taeyong points out.

Kun lets out a sigh and laughs a little. “I know, hyung. I tried translating it afterward and found out that it’s morse code for binary numbers. I then tried translating the binary code to Korean but it doesn’t turn up a word.”

“What does it say, then?” Doyoung asks.

“It’s the letters ‘ㅁㅈㄴㅁㅋ’.” Kun types on the keyboard.

“Mijiniumkeu?” Doyoung tries reading out the letters. “What does that mean?”

“Maybe someone was just playing a prank on you.” Taeyong argues. “Or I don’t know, someone accidentally sat on their phone and it typed this.”

“But what if it’s not an accident. What if this is deliberate? What if it’s one of our enemies trying to send a death threat to me? Or us?”

“Hey, now. Let’s not – “

“Good morning hyungs.” Jisung greets the older three as he walks inside the kitchen. “What’s got you guys so worked up this early in the day?”

“It’s almost lunch time Jisungie and you just woke up.” Doyoung deapans.

“Riiiight.” Jisung tries to deflect the conversation by drinking a whole glass of water in one gulp.

“Jisung – ah, do you know what these letters mean?” Kun looks up at Jisung and motions for him to come take a look.

“What’s that?” Jisung asks as he takes a look at the text. “Mi… mijiniumkeu? What’s that?”

“I honestly don’t know. I got this text sometime around five am and didn’t think much of it. I honestly just thought it was Yangyang playing a trick on me.”

“Have you tried translating it?”

“I did. But it doesn’t turn up in Chinese or even Japanese. Maybe English? Should we get Mark?”

“Okay.” Jisung talks a long pause. “Before we call Markie hyung, have you tried reading it by letter?”

“What do you mean?” Kun tilts his head to the side.

“You know, see if each letter represents a word?”

“Not yet, no. But that would take hours! There’s at least a hundred words that start with those letters!”

“Should we send this to Dejun and see if he comes up with any?” Taeyong suggests.

“Let’s wait a bit more, hyung.” Doyoung counters.

“Okay, given that this word could mean in English, what’s the correlation?” Kun argues.

“Ah, hyung! You know that trend kids do these days where they type their names on an English keyboard?”

“What?” The older three say at the same time.

“Look, the letter ‘ㅁ’, if you look at it from an English keyboard,” Jisung takes out his phone and searches for an English keyboard layout online. “It’s the letter ‘A’ in their keyboard while it’s the letter ‘ㅁ’ in ours.”

“Ohhhh.” Kun gasps. “I didn’t think of that!”

“Then the letter ‘ㅈ’ would be the letter ‘W’ on the English keyboard.” Doyoung continues.

“Letter ‘ㄴ’ would be letter ‘S’.” Taeyong adds.

“Oh my god. Wait.” Jisung suddenly interrupts. “I think I know what the word is.”

“You do?” Taeyong looks at Jisung as if he grew ten heads.

“ _Awsaz._ ”

“What’s ‘awsaz?’”

“Wait, I know that word!” Kun exclaims all of a sudden.

“You do? Did Chenle teach you that word, hyung?”

“He did!”

“Wait, I’m confused what the hell is an ‘awsaz’ and why do you two know it?” Taeyong looks at the two with a frown.

“It’s just a bunch of letters I thought of back then when Yangyang hyung and I went to L.A. one time. It basically just means ‘save me.’”

“Save me?” Doyoung repeats.

“We weren’t really thinking of life-or-death situations when we coined the term. We would just text each other this word for something petty like ‘save me from ordering drinks’ or ‘save me, I can’t understand the lady in the cash register is saying’ type of things.”

“Who else knows this?” Taeyong asks.

“Just us the Dreamies? Unless Yangyang hyung told somebody else?” Jisung shrugs.

“Could it be Ten playing a trick on me? Considering him and Yangyang are close. But that wouldn’t make sense.” Kun starts to think. “He wouldn’t be able to think of a discreet prank like this. Besides, where would he get such a number?”

“Could it be…” Doyoung cuts off his sentence. Suddenly, Jisung jolts up and almost drops the glass he was a holding.

“It could be a distress signal, hyung!” Jisung screams upon realization. “Holy shit, hyung! This could be Jaehyun hyung!”

“What?” The older three screams in unison.

“If it’s not Ten hyung, then it could be Jaehyun hyung! He could be sending us a signal! This could be it!”

“But how is that possible? How on earth could he have sent me a sound clip of a morse code from an unknown number?” Kun debates.

“Hyungs, haven’t I told you before? Aren’t we mafia members?”

“Kun, can you track the location?”

“My laptop wouldn’t be fast enough. I’ll call Hendery right now and see if he can trace it.” Kun immediately calls Hendery and tells him what happened and tells him to access his phone so he can ping the location. Once Hendery gets to work on it, Kun hangs up and rejoins the three. “Taeyong hyung, now that the situation has turned out like this, I’m one hundred percent sure now that Jaehyun wasn’t a mole. I think he was being blackmailed the entire time and when they saw that we were making movement towards them, they kidnapped Jaehyun to keep him from talking.”

“I think you’re right.” Taeyong replies as he stands up. “I’ll call Johnny and tell him the news.” Taeyong turns to Doyoung. “Doyoung, can you gather the members? Let’s meet in HQ and tell everyone the good news. Jisung – ah,” Doyoung nods in agreement and proceeds to pull out his phone to text the members. Taeyong looks at Jisung. “Good job today. Because of you, we actually made progress and are now one step closer to finding Jaehyun.”

“Ah,” Jisung scratches his head. “It’s nothing, really. I mean, who knew dumb words we thought of would actually end up saving somebody else.”

“Either way, you did good.” Taeyong smiles at him.

“Thanks, I guess?”

“Alright, let’s go save Jaehyun, everybody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there we have it! i kept thinking on what cryptic word jaehyun could've sent kun that he wouldn't be able to decode it the first time around, and how he was going to send the sos message, so that alone took a lot of time ahaha but i'm glad with how it turned out nonetheless. 
> 
> anyway, comments and kudos are much much appreciated! see you in the next chapter!


End file.
